THE 



CASTLES AND ABBEYS 



YOEKSHIRE: 

ilSTOKICAL AND DESCEIPTIVE ACCOUNT 



f |i Pijst Ctlebrate!ir f mns in % Crantj, 



WILLIAM GRAINGE, 

AUTHOR OP 
THE BATTLES AND BATTLE-FIELDS OF YORKSHIRE.' 




YOEK: 

JOHN SAMPSON, 

§00K una "^xmt-^dkx, 'gihxnxmn, nnb ^tatiotwr, 

13, Coney-Street. 

WHITTAKER AND CO. LONDON. 

1855. 



4>t 



PREFACE. 



In a work of this kind, originality can hardly be 
expected. Objects of such general interest as the 
Castles and Abbeys of Yorkshire, have so frequently 
employed the pen of the historian and antiquary, that 
little more can be added to what has been already 
told : and as the events of ancient times must be 
learned from previously existing documents, a work 
of great novelty cannot be expected on this subject. 
Indeed, my aim, in the following work, has not been 
to lengthen accounts already diffuse ; but rather to 
compress the matter already known, and render it 
more accessible to the general reader. Though the 
subject has been handled before by able writers, — 
such as Whitaker, Drake, and Hunter ; yet their 
works are so scarce and expensive, as to be hardly 
accessible to the rich and learned few ; whilst the 
many, — whose curiosity and thirst for knowledge is 
equally deserving of gratification, — are totally debar- 
red from their perusal. Besides, the works of the 
writers above mentioned, relate only to parts of the 
subject ; are limited to some particular district or 
locality ; and can only be procured at a cost which 



VI PREFACE. 

yery few can afford. Such being the case, I presume 
that a compendious account of the most interesting of 
the monastic and baronial remains in this county, mil 
not be unacceptable to the general reader, nor to the 
Yorkshireman in particular. 

My first intention was, to arrange the matter in the 
form of excursions by railway, or journeys through 
the county ; but that plan had its difficulties, and was 
abandoned. The idea next presented itself, of treat- 
ing the subjects according to the priority of their 
foundation ; but this was also found impracticable. 
So, I finally determined to begin with the most south- 
erly ; and, proceeding northward, taking them indis- 
criminately as they occurred, without any regard to 
the classification of the different kinds of buildings : — 

" On yon bold brow a lordly tower, 
In that soft vale a lady's bower ; 
In yonder meadow far away, 
The turrets of a cloister gray." 

In this manner I have proceeded with my subject ; 
from the genial vale in which the castle of Tickhill 
stands, near to the borders of Nottinghamshire ; to 
the bleak and wild ridge crowned by the Norman 
tower of Bowes, not far from the confines of West- 
moreland. 

To give variety to the subject, short accounts of 
some of the ceremonies and dresses of the different 
monastic orders are given. And to add a little 
freshness and individuality to the descriptions of the 



PREFACE. Vll 

various objects, I have visited, during the last two 
years, — with one or two exceptions, — every castle and 
abbey described in the course of the work ; though 
some of them were only reached after long and toil- 
some journeys on foot. If the reader derives as much 
pleasure from the accounts here presented to him, as 
I did in exploring and examining the different ruins, 
I shall be satisfied that my labours have not been in 
vain. 

Accounts of the most interesting ruins only, will be 
found in this work. Though the articles are more 
than forty in number, yet walls, foundations, and 
well ascertained sites exist, of at least as many more ; 
though such small fragments remain, and such slender 
associations are connected with them, that the tourist 
will hardly be tempted to turn aside to explore them. 

The favour with which my former work on " The 
Battles and Battle-Fields of Yorkshire,'^ was received 
by the public, was part of my inducement for under- 
taking this ; — which carries on the subject first pro- 
posed to myself ; viz. — An Account of the Historical 
Lands of Yorkshire, — but does not complete it ; as 
many places yet remain, which have been rendered 
famous by great actions, and are equally deserving 
of mention with those already recorded ; and which, 
should the reading public say go on, may form the 
subject of some future publication. — W. G. 

July 1855. 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE. 

TicKHiLL Castle 1 

Roche Abbey 11 



CONISBOROUGH CaSTLE . 

PONTEFRACT CaSTLE . . 

Sandal Castle . . . 

Selby Abbey . . . . 

Cawood Castle . . . 

KiKKSTALL Abbey . . 

Harewood Castle . . 

Spofforth Castle . , 
Knaresborough Castle. 



. 19 
. 33 
. 50 
. 55 
. 66 
. 71 
. 86 
. 100 
. 105 



Fountains Abbey 117 

Bolton Priory 139 

Barden Tower 153 

Skipton Castle 157 

Sawley Abbey 170 

St. Mary's Abbey . . . .183 

York Castle 196 

Wressil Castle 208 

Watton Abbey 215 

Bridlington Priory. . . .222 
KiRKHAM Priory 231 



Sheriff-Hutton Castle 
Slingsby Castle . 
Craike Castle 
Byland Abbey . 
EiEVAux Abbey . 
Helmsley Castle 
Pickering Castle 
Scarborough Castle 
Whitby Abbey . . 
Mulgrave Castle 
GuisBOROUGH Priory 
Mount- Grace Priort 
Jervaux Abbey . 
CovERHAM Abbey. 
Middleham Castle 
Bolton Castle 
Richmond Castle. 
The Grey Friars 
Easby Abbey . . 
Ravensworth Castle 
Eggleston Abbey 
Bowes Castle 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



PAGE 

. 237 
. 243 
. 247 
. 250 
. 258 
. 266 
. 272 
. 280 
. 290 
. 301 
. 306 
. 313 
. 322 
. 328 
. 832 
. 341 
. 348 
. 357 
. 360 
. 366 
. 371 
. 374 



Guisborough Priory (fi'ontispiecej 

Fountains Abbey 117 

Bridlington Priory .... 222 
Kirkham Priory 231 



Rievaux Abbey 258 

Whitby Abbey (Exterior) . . 290 

(Interior) . . 296 

The Grey Friars . . . .357 



THE 



CASTLES AND ABBEYS 



OP 



YORKSHIRE. 



The most southerly of the Yorkshire castles, is that 
of Tickhill ; "'' being about three miles north from the 
border of Nottinghamshire, four miles west of Bawtrj, 
and seven miles nearly south of Doncaster. This 
fortress, when in its complete state, bore a striking 
resemblance to the neighbouring castle of Conisborough. 
In both buildings, advantage was taken of a natural 



* Respecting the etymology of tliis place, nothing at all satisfactory has 
ever been mentioned. The story that it is derived from the Dutch word 
Tichel, signifying a brick, is deserving of no regard. And Gale's supposition 
that it was anciently Ictthill, is very uncertain. The historian of the district 
endeavours to account for it thus : " Wich was the word by which, in the 
language of the common people, such a fortified mount as that of Tickhill 
was designated. Hence, The wich hill; this would become TJi* wick hill^ and, 
by an easy contraction, Tickhill." — Huxter's South Yorkshire, vol. I. p. 222. 

B 



Z TICKHILL CASTLE 

liill, round the base of which a moat was drawn ; on 
the summit, an eUiptical area was fenced in by a wall 
placed on a mound of earth, which in its circuit met 
a tumulus bearing a circular keep. To the areas of 
both there was but one entrance, and that strictly 
defended ; but the entrance at Tickhill, instead of 
being by a winding ancl somewhat intricate passage, 
was directly through a gateway tower, which was 
defended by four doors and a portcullis. Both are 
of uncertain antiquity, nor is there any direct record 
who was the founder of either ; both were fortresses 
of great strength, and both were of great consequence 
in the early feudal ages. But in variety of fortune 
and historical incident, Tickhill exceeds Conisborough, 
as much as the latter exceeds the former in bulk of 
remains and picturesque appearance. 

Nothing is known of Tickhill until the period of the 
Conquest, when we find the principal property in this 
neighbourhood in the possession of Roger de Busli, 
who either enlarged or built a castle here. The time 
of this warrior's decease is not exactly known, but he 
was certainly dead in 1098. Robert de Belesme, soon 
after his death, obtained from Wilham Rufus the 
possessions of Roger de Busli, (who was his kinsman,) 
for a great sum of money ; and it appears that he 
stepped in between the property and some persons 
who had a nearer claim : as, at a subsequent period, 
w^e find tw^o families each preferring a claim to this 
castle and honour, on the ground of a disturbance, at 
this period, of the natural course of descent. In the 



TICKHILL CASTLE. 3 

succeeding reign, all the estates of Robert de Belesme 
were resumed by Henry L, who kept possession of 
Tickhill during the whole of his reign. 

In the reign of Stephen, the earl of Eu laid claim 
to the castle and honour of Tickhill, which was then 
held by William de Clairfait, supported by the power 
of Stephen. For a short time during the same reign, 
it was possessed by Randolf earl of Chester.'''" 

When Henry II. ascended the throne, he entered 
also into full possession of the castle and honour of 
Tickhill. His queen, Eleanor of Aquitaine, must have 
held the castle in dower, for she was the foundress of 
the royal chapel of St. Nicholas, within its walls. 

From Henry, it descended to Richard I. ; during 
whose absence in Palestine, fighting against the infi- 
dels, discord arose between his brother prince John, 
and the persons to whom Richard had committed the 
administration of government during his absence ; and 
the castles of Tickhill and Nottingham were given up 
to the prince, while the other party were engaged 
besieging the castle of Lincoln. But soon after, a 
treaty was entered into, one of the stipulations of 
which was, that John should restore the castles of 
Tickhill and Nottingham to the king's ofiicers ; the 
former to be held by WiUiam de Wendwall, the latter 
by William Marshall, till the king's return, or certain 
intelligence of his death. This treaty was not ful- 
filled, and a considerable army was soon raised in 
Yorkshire by the friends of Richard, which assembled 

* Ddgdale's Baronage, vol. I. p. 39. 



4 TICKHILL CASTLE. 

at Doncaster, under the command of Hugli Pudsay, 
bishop of Durham, and thence proceeded to besiege 
the castle of Tickhill. Just at this juncture, intelli- 
gence was received of PJchard, not only that he was 
alive, but that he had returned to England. Of all 
the fortresses in the kingdom, only the castles of [N'ot- 
tingham and Tickhill held out against the king. The 
garrisons affected to disbelieve the news of his return, 
and defended themselves with obstinate resolution ; 
especially the garrison of Tickhill, under the command 
of Robert de la Mare. They were however compelled 
to surrender ; and many of the perfidious persons who 
had delivered the castle to John were hanged on a 
gibbet by Roger de Laci, to whom the command of the 
castle had been first confided by king Richard. 

Towards the close of the reign of John, the family of 
de Busli revived their claims to the castle and honour 
of Tickhill, which claims were only suffered to sleep 
when the crown was sufficiently strong to maintain 
that right, which at first it appears to have usurped. 
John entered into a treaty with Ralph de Isondon, 
earl of Eu, in whom the claim of one of the branches 
of De Busli vested ; that, for assistance against the 
king of France, he would restore to him the castles of 
Tickhill and Hastings with the appurtenances, and all 
rights of the house of Eu in England. 

In pursuance of this treaty, a royal writ was issued 
to John de Bassingl3urn, to deliver the castle of Tickhill 
to the said earl. But in those times, the issuing of a 
royal mandate, and its execution, were two different 



TICK HILL CASTLE. 

things : a large portion of the baronage of England 
were in open opposition to the kingly authority, and 
one of the most potent and active of the discontented 
barons was Robert de Vipont, who also claimed descent 
from the house of Busli ; either by force of law, or 
force of arms he obtained possession of the castle, and 
held it till the first year of Henry III., when a royal 
writ was issued to him to deliver the castle of Tickhill 
to the earl of Eu, in fulfilment of the treaty made by 
king John. Vipont, however, persisted in maintaining 
his right. After a long law-suit, the claims of the earl 
of Eu were confirmed, excepting the six knights' fees 
and a half in Maltby, Sandbeck, and Kimberworth. 
The earl died in the third of Henry III., and his 
countess, Alice, forfeited this honour to the crown.''' 

Again at the king's disposal, the castle and honour 
of Tickhill was put in dov/er to Eleanor, the wife of 
prince Edward, eldest son, and heir apparent to the 
king. This was in 1245. 

In the reign of Edward L, the struggle was revived 
between the crown and the representatives of De Busli, 
for the enjoyment of this great fee. But after a solemn 
hearing in parliament, it was determined that the earl 
of Eu was an alien ; and all private claims upon this 
castle and honour were now finally cleared away, and 
henceforth the possession was in the crown, or in parties 
to whom it was assigned. 

In the rising of the barons against the favourites of 
king Edward IL, in 1321, the castle of Tickhill was 

* Dugdale's Baronage, voL I. p. 137. 



b TICKHILL CASTLE. 

attacked by a party of the insurgents : the first assault 
seems to have been made about the beginning of 
February ; and for three weeks the siege was carried 
on. It was defended for the king by WilHam de Anne. 
Many persons were sLiin ; and the earl of Lancaster 
haying failed to defend the passage of the riyer at 
Burton-upon-Trent, was obliged to retreat northward, 
and the siege of the castle was raised. 

The castle and honour of Tickhill were settled by 
Edward III. on his queen Philhpa. She died in 1369 ; 
and three years afterwards the king assigned them to 
John of Gaunt, with many other lands, in exchange for 
the earldom of Richmond, which he surrendered to the 
crown. In the eighteenth 3^ear of that reign, the 
castle of Tickhill was appointed for the residence of 
the duchess of Bretaigne ; and five marks a week were 
to be paid to WilHam Frank, the constable, for the 
expenses this would occasion. 

In the fifth of Richard IL, the duke of Lancaster 
granted to Catherine Swinford an annuity of 200 
marks, payable out of the receipts of this honour, in 
recompense of her care in educating his daughter. 

The castle and honour of Tickhill having thus 
become a part of the appanage of the duke of 
Lancaster, was included in the act passed in the first 
of Henry IV., by which the dukedom of Lancaster was 
declared to be no part of the royal demesne, but to 
remain as heretofore, with all its rights and libei'ties, 
as if the duke of Lancaster had not succeeded to 
tlie crown of England. 



TICKHILL CASTLE. 7 

Assignments have, from time to time, been made of 
this castle and honour for temporary purposes, or in 
favour of different members of the royal house ; but 
these it is not necessary to particularize. 

After the battle of Marston Moor, and the surrender 
of York to the arms of the parliament, the earl of 
Manchester sent colonel Lilburn to reduce this castle. 
The garrison, consisting of eighty musketeers and 
thirty horse, were extremely oppressive to the in- 
habitants of the surrounding country. After a siege of 
two days, Major Monkton, the governor, desired a 
parley, and the garrison agreed to surrender them- 
selves prisoners of war. There was only one piece of 
cannon mounted in the castle ; but there were one 
hundred muskets and some powder and match. As 
the royalists here in garrison had plundered the 
country around, they were better supplied with pro- 
visions than with military stores. There were found 
above one hundred quarters of corn, many barrels of 
salt butter, great store of cheese and powdered beef, 
besides live cattle and sheep. 

On the 13th of April, 1646, the parliament issued 
an order, commanding that this castle, with several 
others, should be dismantled, and rejidered untenable. 
The circular keep was in consequence demolished ; but 
the foundations may still be traced, fragments of thick 
walls yet rising above ground. The gateway is the 
only part of the ancient castle which has not fallen into 
decay, although it is now roofless, and has otherwise 
suffered from the spoiler's hand. Over the entrance 



8 TICKHILL CASTLE. 

there is a handsome chamber, with a large window 
towards the area, to which there was admission only 
from within the walls. The grooves of the portcullis 
yet remain, and one half of the moat yet contains 
water, the other half is choked up with rubbish. The 
area, defended by a single wall, and a moat of great 
breadth and depth, was of much greater extent than 
that at Conisborough. The exact space of the whole 
hill, including the area, the ascent, and the moat, is 
six acres, three roods, and thirteen perches. Within 
this area was Eleanor's chapel, and several edifices 
intended for the residence of the persons connected 
with the castle, and sometimes of the royal and noble 
owners, who did not inhabit the keep, except during 
the straitness of a siege. Of the chapel, if anything 
remains, it is an old doorway, over which are the words, 

The northern part of the castle buildings, ^\ith some 
modern additions and repairs, forms a commodious and 
picturesque mansion. A great part of the lower ground 
within the walls is converted into gardens and shrub- 
beries, and the steep acclivity of the mound is formed 
into winding walks, leading by an easy ascent to the 
summit finely shaded with pendant wood, and command- 
manding a delightful view of the gardens and the town 
below; as well as many distant objects, among which are 
the churches of Doncaster, Blyth, and Laughten-en-le- 
Morthen. Tlie large and lofty trees, ^Yhich skirt the 



TICKHILL CASTLE. 9 

surrounding ditch and wall at the base of the hill, 
contribute to give a venerable aspect to this interesting 
I'elic of the feudal ages. 

The town of Tickhill is but small ; the streets are 
disposed in the form of a cross, by the roads from 
Worksop to Don caster, and from Bawtry to Eother- 
ham/^ The church, built in the reign of Richard II., 
is an elegant, spacious, and substantial edifice ; con- 
sisting of a nave, chancel, and side aisles, with a 
beautiful square tower at the west end. In the interior 
are many ancient monuments ; one of which is a splen- 
did altar tomb of alabaster, bearing the effigies of Sir 
Richard Fitzwilliam and his lady, said to have been 
removed here from the church of the Augustine priory. 
In the chancel, the monuments of the Estefields are 
particularly deserving of attention ; as is the whole 
fabric both externally and internall}^ The environs of 
Tickhill are pleasant, and in most parts fertile. The 
vale, which extends north and south from the town, 
and the lower parts of the slopes on each side, produce 
abundant crops of corn. About a quarter of a mile 
w^est of the town, shaded by a grove of walnut trees, 
are the remains of Clarel Hall, anciently occupied by 
the family of Clarel, who held part of the manor under 
the lords of the fee. In a retired valley, about 200 
yards distant from the remains of this house, stood a 
priory of Augustine Friars, founded by the ancestors 

* In the twenty-third of Edward L, this town w'as summoned to send two 
burgesses to parlianicnt, when it returned John Bate and Richard fitz Richard 
de Eastfield. 



10 TICKHILL CASTLE. 

of the Clarel family, who, as well as their descendants 
the Fitzwilliams, used the priory chapel as a place of 
sepulture ; but all monuments of them are gone, except 
a few shields of arms in the desecrated walls, and the 
splendid altar tomb now in the parish church. This 
house was surrendered in 1537, and there were at that 
time a prior and eight brethren. About the house 
were ninety fothers of lead, six bells, and sixteen 
ounces of plate. Part of the ruins are worked up in 
the outbuildings of the adjacent house ; but the stable 
door, in the wall of what was the chapel, is very per- 
fect, with a pointed arch, and double row of quatrefoils. 
The environs of Tickhill are beautiful and interesting, 
and the town is well worth a visit from the passing 
tourist. 



11 



ml^t %hk^,* 



The remains of this abbey are situate in the pictur- 
esque valley which extends from the hamlet of Stone 
to the village of Maltby, about three miles south west 
of the town of Tickhill, and close to the magnificent 
domain of Sandbeck Park, the seat of the earl of 
Scarborough. The foundation of this abbey was the 
most splendid act of piety of the early lords of Maltby 
and Hooten. But, though they were accounted the 
founders, because they gave the site, the monks must 
have done much for themselves, and had other great 
benefactors. 

A natural phenomenon, probably heightened by art, 
contributed to induce the monks to make choice of this 
spot. Among the accidental forms which portions of 
the fractured limestone had assumed, there was dis- 
covered something which bore the resemblance of our 
Saviour upon the .cross. This image was held in 
considerable reverence during the whole period of the 

* The name of this monastery has no connection with Roche, the Lombardy 
saint, who devoted himself to the pious care of the sick ; as all the Cistercian 
houses were dedicated to the Virgin, and were distinguished from each other 
by some addition, as de Fontibits, de Hvpe, when they were not near any 
place which had previously acquired a name. The Roche, or the Rocher, 
still designates a place not unlike the site of this abbey, on the banks of the 
Loxley, near Sheffield. 



12 ROCHE ABBEY. 

existence of tlie monastery, and devotees were accus- 
tomed to come in pilgrimage to " Our Saviour of the 
Hoche." 

On the arrival of the monks, in or about the year 
1147, they were welcomed by two lords of the soil on 
which they had settled themselves, Richard de Busli 
the lord of Maltby, and Richard the son of Turgis, 
called also Richard de Wickersley. 

To be the founder of a house of religion was a 
distinction of which even princes were ambitious ; and 
the two lords of Maltby and Hooten doubtless rejoiced 
in the opportunity w^hich seemed to be afforded them, 
of connecting their names for ever with such a founda- 
tion. By the light which the early charters afford, we 
discover that there was a friendly rivalry between the 
two families, who should first take the monks into their 
protection, and give them, for their absolute use, 
ground necessary for their holy purposes. It was 
finally settled in a manner which must have been 
highly satisfactory to the monks. The two lords were 
to convey to them a considerable portion of their 
territory, in which was included the rock from which 
they took their designation. 

The lord of Maltby's original donation is thus 
described : — The whole w^ood, as the middle way goes 
from Eilrichethorpe to Lowthwaite, and so far as the 
water which divides Maltby and Hooten ; also two sarts 
which were GammuFs, with a great culture adjacent, 
and common of pasture for a hundred sheep, six score 
to the hundred in socJiogia de Malthy, 



ROCHE ABBEY. lo 

The lord of Hooten gave the whole land from the 
borders of Eilrichethorpe as far as the brow of the hill 
beyond the rivulet which runs from Fogswell, and so 
to a heap of stones which lies in the sart of Elsi, and 
so beyond the road as far as the Wolf-pit, and so by 
the head of the culture of Hartshow, to the borders of 
Slade Hooten. All land and wood within these boun- 
daries he gave, with common of pasture through all 
his lands, and fifty carectas, perhaps loads of wood, in 
his wood of Wickersley. 

The whole of the ground comprehended in these 
two donations is described in Pope Urban's confirma- 
tion, A.D. 1186, as locum ipsum in quo abhatia sitaest^ 

Neither of these deeds has a date ; but the year 
1147 was assigned as the date of its foundation, by the 
uniform tradition of the house. The architecture of 
the portions of the building which remain may be 
referred to that era. There is such an exact con- 
formity with the style of Kirkstall, that the church of 
Eoche evidently belongs to the same age ; and Mr. 
Hunter says, it may almost be affirmed that it was 
built upon a plan sketched by the same architect.! It 
is evident, therefore, that the monks, as soon as they 
received the grant of the soil, set themselves about 
erecting their church, and apartments for their resi- 
dence. Their church was built upon an extensive and 

* Hunter, vol. I., p. 267. 

f " South Yorkshire ; " a valuable work, to which we have been indebted 
for much information concerning the castles and abbeys of this part of the 
county. 



14 ROCHE ABBF.Y. 

magnificent scale ; and it cannot be supposed that the 
burden of its erection rested solely on the lords who 
gave the land, though they would without doubt be 
forward in the pious design. It is, indeed, one of the 
great difficulties attending our monastic antiquities, to 
account for the command of labour, which must have 
been vested somewhere, directed for the preparation of 
so many noble houses of religion as arose during the 
twelfth century, while England was distracted by 
foreign and intestine war. 

The wdiole was completed before 118G, and in that 
interval the monks had found many liberal benefactors. 

Durandus was the first abbot. His presidency 
extended from June 1147 to 1159. 

From 1184 to 1223, Osmund was abbot. He had 
been cellarer of Fountains abbey. In his time, king 
Richard I. released the house from a debt of 1300 
marks to the Jew^s ; perhaps not very honestly. 

John Wakefield was abbot in 1438. In his time, 
Maud, countess of Cambridge, made her will at this 
monastery, and directed that her remains should be 
interred there. 

Henry Cundall was the last abbot ; who, with seven- 
teen monks, surrendered the monastery, 23rd June, 
A.D. 1539 ; and he had conferred upon him an annual 
pension of £33 6s. 8d., which he still enjoyed in 1553; 
and of the seventeen monks, eleven were also alive at 
that time. On the abbot's departure, he was allowed 
to take his books, and the fourth part of the plate, 
cattle, and household stuff, a chalice, a vestment, and 



ROCHE ABBEY. 15 

£30 in money, together with a convenient portion of 
corn. Every monk had a half-year's pension in ad- 
vance, and £20 towards his apparel ; and to each 
servant was granted a reward of half a year's wages. 

The stock of the abbey, at the period of the disso- 
lution, consisted of four score oxen, kine, and young 
beasts, five cart horses, two mares, one foal, one stag, 
six score sheep ; there were also twelve feather beds, 
and four score quarters of wheat and malt. The plate 
was very moderate. According to Dugdale, the clear 
yearly revenues were £224 ; and the gross amount, 
according to Speed, was £271 19s. 4d. 

The site was granted 38th of Henry VIII., to 
William Ramsden and Thomas Yavasour ; it now 
belongs, with the adjacent demesne of Sandbeck Park, 
to the earl of Scarborough. 

Of the fabric of the abbey only a building placed at 
the entrance of the precincts on the side towards 
Maltby, and some beautiful fragments of the transepts 
remain. The first mentioned building is placed close 
to the rock, and consists of two aisles, with groined 
arches above, and is of later architecture than the 
church; indeed so late, and standing at such a distance 
from the monastery, that it might be taken for part of 
the novum hospitiwn, mentioned in the account of the 
abbey property, and which w^as doubtless erected by 
the monks for the convenience of persons resorting to 
the abbey, and especially of the pilgrims who came in 
veneration of the image found in the rock. It also 
formed a gateway to the abbey on that side. A 



16 ROCHE ABBEY. 

carriage way yet passes directly through it. When 
complete it has evidently had another story, as well as 
extended further towards the brook. 

Northward, and above the gateway and hospitium, 
the narrow valley is closed in by bold, perpendicular 
rocks, of considerable height, uneven, broken, rugged, 
and highly picturesque ; the dwarf oak and yew cling 
to the crevices, and give variety to the face of the 
cliff ; tall elms rise from the level ground in front, and 
the whole valley is hid in the most complete and 
delicious seclusion. Passing the remains of the gate- 
house, the high rock on the left is thickly fringed with 
yew ; suddenly the valley widens, and bends to the 
eastward, and we obtain our first view of the remains 
of the magnificent church. The richly wooded bank 
on the other side opening out, with the waters of the 
brook sleeping in a broad canal at its foot, presents a 
picture of exquisite beauty. The narrow valley east 
of the abbey, with a fine sheet of water running 
nearly down the centre, and the woods rising on each 
side, bears a great resemblance to the valley of the 
Skell, at Fountain's abbey, yet of a wilder and less 
artificial character. 

A large mass of stonework, at a distance west- 
ward from the principal portion which remains of the 
church, is evidently the base of one side of the great 
western entrance. This admitted to the nave, flanked 
by side aisles, the whole of which, with the exception 
of the base of one or two columns has disappeared. 
Advancing eastward, we arrive at the columns which 



ROCDE ABBEY. 17 

supported the tower that rose at the intersection of the 
naye, choir, and transept. Much of these remains. 
The eastern walls of the transept still exist, and enough 
of the inner work to show, that in each were two small 
chapels, to which the entrance was from the open part 
of the transept, and the light admitted from windows 
looking eastward. In this we perceive a close resem- 
blance in design to the church at Kirkstall, as there is 
also the closest resemblance in some of the minuter dec- 
orations. The difference is, that at Kirkstall there are 
three of these chapels in each transept. The north 
wall must have arisen almost in contact with the per- 
pendicular rock ; and, indeed, the whole of the northern 
side of the church must have been darkened by that 
rock, which rises as high as the walls of the abbey 
themselves. Between these side chapels, and ex- 
tending considerably beyond them, was the principal 
choir, with lights at the east end, and on the north 
and south. And with this the church appears to have 
terminated, as there is nothing to indicate that there 
was any lady choir, or other building beyond. 

On the north side of the choir may be discerned the 
remains of some rich tabernacle work, consisting of 
crocketted canopies terminated in finials, a part of 
which has been painted of a red colour. This has the 
appearance of having been canopies over seats, or more 
probably over tombs. On the other side, the piscina 
of an altar yet remains in the wall. The ponds in 
which the monks were accustomed to keep their fish, 
and the mill at which they ground their corn, are still 



18 ROCHE ABBEY. 

existing. The ruins stand at a short distance from the 
western extremity of Sandbeck Park, and the grounds 
were greatly improved by the late earl of Scarborough. 
They are hidden by a steep woody cliff towards the 
south, and by large rocks towards the north and north- 
west. To the east is a large reservoir of water, formed 
by the collected stream of a rivulet which runs close to 
the ruins. The banks on each side of this water are 
steep and clothed in wood, interspersed with rocks and 
fragments of ruins. Stately trees are growing among 
the walls of the church, which, with the lake in the 
valley, and the bold contiguous scenery, present a 
picture inexpressibly charming ; especially when viewed 
with the light and shade they receive from a western 
sun, 



ID 



CoNiNGSBOROUGH, OF Coiiisborougii castle, is one of 
those ancient structures which have given rise to much 
controversy among antiquaries ; some asserting it to be 
of Saxon origin; others contending, with more proba- 
bihty, for its erection by the Norman earls of Warren ; 
while Mr. King, in his " Munimenta Antiqua,'' refers 
the keep to the Britons of the days of Cartismandua, 
and to artists working on Phoenician and Phrygian 
models. The earliest proprietor of this domain, of whom 
we have any authentic record, was Harold, son of earl 
Godwin, who succeeded Edward the Confessor as king 
of England. At the time of the Domesday survey, 
Conisborough belonged to William de Warren, the son- 
in-law of the Conqueror, and the first earl of Warren 
and Surry. It was given to him with the fee entire, 
as Harold had possessed it. 

The second earl, of Warren enjoyed the honours 
and possessions of the family nearly fifty years, dying 
in 1138. 

* This place v,'as called by the Britons Cae?- Conan; by the Saxons 
Conanhurgli ; and by Robert of Gloucester, the monkish historian, Borough 
Conan. One of the principal scenes in Sir AValter Scott's romance of 
Ivanhoe is laid in this castle. And the old Saxon general, Hengist, is said 
by GeoiFrey of Monmouth, to have been slain in a great battle and buried 
here. 



20 CONISBOROUGH CASTLE. 

The third earl sided sometimes with king Stephen^ 
and sometimes with the empress Matilda. He held 
the Warren lands about nine years, and was slain in 
Palestine, in 1147. He left an only daughter, who 
was first married to William de Blois, one of the sons 
of Stephen, who died without issue in 1159. She was 
afterw^ards given by Henry 11. to his half brother, 
Hameline, an illegitimate son of Greoffrey earl of Anjou, 
for whom an ample provision was thus made. He was 
earl of Warren and Surry till his death in 1 202. The 
most probable supposition is, that the keep of the 
castle was erected by this earl. Certain it is, that he 
endowed a chapel within the castle. " The terms of 
the charter/' says Mr. Hunter, " imply that it was a 
first endowment, not an augmentation of revenue ; 
whence it may be inferred, that he foimded as w^ell as 
endowed it." 

Hameline's son and heir, William, succeeded. He 
enjoyed the honours and lands for nearly forty years. 
He married the eldest of the sisters and heirs of the 
Mareschals, earls of Pembroke. She was the widow of 
Hugh Bigod, earl of Norfolk. To this lady the staff of 
marshal of England was delivered by the king, as her 
right of inheritance. The custody of the castle of 
Conisborough was committed to her care in 26th of 
Henry III. ; which was during the minority of her son. 

The possession of Conisborough was in earl William 
and his two successors, both named John, with a slight 
interruption from an accidental cause, through the long 
jspace of 140 years. 



CONISBOROUGH CASTLE. 21 

John, the seventh earl Warren, married Alice, sister, 
by the mother's side, to king Henry III., to whose 
party he occasionally adhered, and at other times sided 
with the barons against him. 

John, the eighth, and last earl of Warren, was the 
grandson of the former, his father having been killed 
in a tournament in 1286. He was about eighteen at 
the death of his grandfather, in 1304, and at his death, 
in 1347, there was an end of the connexion of the 
name of Warren with Conisborough. 

To this earl, Edward I. gave his grand-daughter, 
Joan de Bar, in marriage. The union was issueless 
and not a happy one. In 1268, in a dispute about a 
pasture, the Warrens and the Lacies, lords of Ponte- 
fract, had each armed their retainers, and prepared for 
one of those lawless encounters, of which there are 
several instances in our baronial history, but were 
prevented by the king. Alice de Laci, the heiress of 
Pontefract, was of about the same age with the eighth 
earl of Warren. She was given in marriage to Thomas, 
earl of Lancaster, grandson to king Henry III. ; she 
lived, for the most part, at her castle of Pontefract. 
This lady, on the Monday before ascension day, in 
1317, was carried off by violence, and conveyed to a 
castle of the earl of Warren, at Keigate, in Surry. 
She was divorced by her indignant husband, and the 
earl of Lancaster proceeded to avenge himself by 
laying siege to the castles in Yorkshire belonging to 
the earl of Warren, one of which was Conisborough. 
A writ was issued from the king, dated November 



22 CONISBOROUGH CASTLE. 

13th, 1317, commanding him to cease from doing so ; 
and in the following year, the earl of Lancaster 
engaged to pardon every one all trespasses and felonies 
done against him, with the exception of the trespasses 
and felonies of the earl of Warren. About the same 
time, the earl of Lancaster obtained possession of the 
manor of Wakefield and the castle of Conisborough, 
thus banishing his rival entirely from the north. 

In 1322, when the earl of Lancaster, in rebellion 
against king Edward II., was defeated and taken 
prisoner at the battle of Boroughbridge, among the 
peers present in the castle of Pontefract, when sentence 
of death was passed upon him, and he was led forth to 
die, was the earl of Warren. 

On the death of the earl of Lancaster, this fee 
escheated to the crown. The grant of his Yorkshire 
lands to the earl of Lancaster had been made by the 
earl of Warren, only for the term of his life. He 
therefore surrendered his manors into the king's hands, 
for the purpose of making a disposition of his estates 
after his death : they were re-conveyed to him by the 
king for his life, with remainder to Maud de Nerford, 
a lady with whom he had cohabited after separation 
from his wife ; remainder to John de Warren, son to 
the said Maud, and the heirs male of his body ; 
remainder to Thomas de Warren, another son of the 
said Maud, and the heirs male of his body ; remainder 
to the heirs of the earl lawfully begotten ; and, in the 
event of the extinction of these parties, to revert to 
the king. This extraordinary disposition did not take 



CONISBOROUGH CASTLE. 23 

effect ; for the two sons died before the earl, without 
leaving issue ; and he also survived Maud de Nerford. 
By virtue of this will, the inheritance of the earl of 
Warren's lands, lying north of Trent, came to the 
crown. On the 6th of August, 1347, only seven and 
thirty days after the death of the earl, a royal patent 
was signed at Reading, by which all the possessions of 
the deceased earl were settled on Edmund of Langley, a 
younger son of the king, and the heirs male of his body. 
He was created, by his father, earl of Cambridge ; and, 
in the ninth year of Richard II., he was advanced to 
the illustrious title of duke of York. He died in 1401. 

Edward, the elder of the two sons of Edmund, 
became, after his father s death, duke of York. He 
adhered closely to the house of Lancaster, and was 
much trusted by them. He accompanied Henry V. in 
his great expedition into France, and lost his life in 
the battle of Agincourt. 

Richard of Conisborough was the younger of the 
two sons of Edmund of Langley ; he married Ann 
Mortimer, the daughter of Roger earl of March and 
Phillipa, the daughter and heiress to Lionel, duke of 
Clarence. This marriage brought the claim to the 
crown to the house of York ; for her brother, Edward 
Mortimer, the last of the Mortimers, earls of March, 
died without leaving issue. 

Richard, duke of York, entered into possession of 
Conisborough in 1446, on the death of the countess of 
Cambridge. He was slain in the battle of Wakefield 
Green, December 24th, 1460. 



24 CONISBOROUGH CASTLE. 

Edward, earl of March, inlierited his father's claim 
to the crown ; and in the year after his father's death 
was fought the great battle of Towton, in which the 
fortunes of the house of York prevailed, and the earl 
became seated on the throne as king Edward IV. 

Conisborough now was kept as a private fief of the 
crown, and as such it was continued till the marriage 
of Henry VII. with Elizabeth of York, when the ancient 
rivalry of the red and white rose became extinct ; and, 
there being no probability of the right of succession of 
the issue being questioned, the whole of what had 
been settled on Edmund of Langley was declared by 
parliament to be resumed, and for ever annexed to the 
crown. 

From this time we may begin to date the gradual 
decay of the edifice which formed the residence of the 
Warrens, and the early princes of the house of York. 
Leland says very little respecting this castle. He 
" saw no notable thing at Cunesborow'" but the castel, 
standing on a rokket of stone, and diched. The walls 
have been strong and full of towres. Dunus flu alluit 
mllam!' 

Ko garrison was placed in it during the civil wars, 
and it is not mentioned with Sheffield, Tickhill, and 
Sandal, in the order of the house of commons for 
dismantling the northern castles in 1646. 

In the third year of queen Elizabeth, the site of the 
castle, the demesne lands, and the feudal rights over a 

* Such is the manner in which the name is pronounced by many people in 
that neighbourhoocl at present. 



CONISBOROUGH CASTLE. 25 

portion of the ancient honour of Conisborough, were 
granted by patent to her relative, Henry Carey, then 
lately created baron Hunsdon. It continued in that 
family until the extinction of the male line, when it 
passed with other great estates to lady Mary Carey, 
who married William Heveningham, Esq., of Heven- 
ingham, one of king Charles' judges. This lady died 
very rich, in 1696, when her property descended to 
her grand-daughter and heiress, Carey Newton, who 
married Edward Coke, Esq., of Holkham, in Norfolk. 
Conisborough became the property of a younger son, 
Edward Coke, Esq., of Longford ; who died in 
the prime of life, 1733. In 1737, the castle of 
Conisborough, &c., was sold, pursuant to directions 
contained in the will of Edward Coke, Esq. The 
purchaser was Thomas, the fourth duke of Leeds, 
one of whose principal seats was at Kiveton, an 
ancient member of the soke of Conisborough. From 
him it has descended to his grandson, George William 
Frederick, duke of Leeds, the present noble owner. 

The site of the castle is a natural eminence, of 
which the upper part, a level area of three roods and 
two perches, is completely encircled by the outer wall. 
It is overlooked by a stiU higher hill, on which is the 
town and church, towards the west, but at too great a 
distance to be annoyed by such missiles as were in use 
when the castle was built. The valley between the 
two eminences was a deep ravine, made deeper by 
art ; across it a draw-bridge appears to have been 
thrown ; and this led to the onl v entrance to the 



26 CONISBOROUGII CASTLE. 

castle. The north side of the hill is very steep, and 
even precipitous ; and the walls of the castle are 
placed so exactly on the verge, that before the forma- 
tion of the modern path, it would be difficult to walk 
round the walls on that side. At a short distance 
from the foot of the hill glides the river Don. On 
the south and east, ditches have been cut round the 
base of the hill, which appear to have been originally 
intended to contain water. They are now nearly 
filled by portions of the outer wall which have fallen 
into them. The sides of the hill, and the area within 
the walls, have been planted with elm and ash ; the 
trees have attained a great size, and certainly add to 
the picturesque beauty, as well as solemnity of the 
scene. 

The entrance to the area of the castle is by a 
wdnding way, about ten feet wide, made in such a 
manner as to be easily defended from the walls and 
towers above, and of very difficult and dangerous 
access to an enemy. At the northern extremity of 
the area rises in severe and simple majesty the keep ; 
devoid of all external ornament, and of a form calcu- 
lated for almost eternal duration. It is eighty-six feet 
in height, of a cylindrical form, with six square but- 
tresses extending the whole height. These buttresses 
are widest close to the main wall, diminishing a little 
outwardly, and are of the same age and masonry as 
the rest of the tower. In the lower part, both walls 
and buttresses diverge from the perpendicular, be- 
coming wider, as if to take a firmer hold on the earth, 



CONISBOROUGH CASTLE. 27 

as we sometimes see the lordly oak grapple itself to 
the soil bj a broad and solid base. 

The outer wall, which has been strengthened by 
several round towers, is now broken down in many 
places ; on the north side, where the wall is yet of 
considerable height, have been several apartments. 
But there appears, with the exception of the keep, to 
have been no accommodation for a considerable 
garrison, or even any apartments at all fitted for the 
lodging of the lord and his family. When once the 
area was gained, there w^as nothing to prevent the 
progress of an enemy to the foot of the keep. 

The masonry of the keep differs materially from 
that of the other parts of the castle, which is more 
modern, and of an inferior kind, both as regards 
materials and workmanship. The stones of the keep 
are nicely squared, smooth, and accurately joined, with 
the courses distinct and regular ; a fine specimen of 
ancient workmanship. To the interior there is only 
one entrance, which is by a small door facing the 
south-west, considerably above the ground, at the top 
of a flight of thirty-three stone steps. This door opens 
through the cylindrical part of the wall, which is here 
fifteen feet thick. Over this door is a semicircular 
arch, also a transom beam, the stones of which latter 
are neatly and curiously notched, or dovetailed into 
each other. The passage through the wall has a 
circular coved roof; on the right is a flight of wide 
steps, which leads to the next story. This apart- 
ment is of a circular form, twenty- two feet in diameter, 



28 COJ^ISBOROUGH CASTLE. 

and occupies the entire breadth of the keep ; it has no 
window, or fire-place, nor any other contrivance for 
hght and warmth, that can be discerned. We look 
through a circular aperture in the centre of the floor, 
about six feet in diameter, and see beneath the room 
in which we stand, a place which maj be truly called 
a den of darkness. This room is in that part of the 
castle where the walls diverge from the perpendicular, 
and has no other entrance than the aperture just 
mentioned. This cellar, dungeon, or whatever it may 
have been, is spacious, and has a vaulted stone roof. 
In the centre of the floor is a well, about three feet in 
diameter, neatly walled with stone, of considerable 
depth ; now destitute of water. By the flight of steps, 
on the right of the entrance, which follows the curva- 
ture of the wall, without any intermediate landing 
place, we reach the next apartment. The steps are of 
solid stone, the roof vaulted, and the passage five or 
six feet in width. Light" is admitted by loop holes. 
The door of the upper apartment is gone, as is all the 
wood work in every part of the keep ; but the staples 
for the hinges and bolts remain. The door has opened 
outwards, and we enter the apartment down one step. 
This room is circular, like the others below; the 
diameter is about two feet longer ; the apartments 
widening as we ascend, by the setting in of the walls 
for the convenience of laying the floors ; there are 
stone trusses all round the walls, to support the ends 
of the beams of timber on which the floor was laid. 
No part of the timber has been let into the wall ; so 



CONISBOROUGH CASTLE. 29 

that, though all the wood work had been destroyed by 
fire, the shell of the building would have suffered 
little damage. This apartment has a noble fire-place, 
eight or nine feet wide, with a triple pillar on each 
side, having Norman capitals. The chimney piece, 
tv^elve feet long, has a flat surface, and is composed 
of several stones, fitted into each other by a kind of 
zigzag or dovetail work, like the transom above the 
outer entrance. On one side of this room is a door- 
way, which opens to a flight of six steps, from which a 
short and winding passage conducts to a retiring 
closet, formed in one of the buttresses. Further on is 
a little recess, or small chamber formed in the circular 
part of the wall, and immediately over the door of 
entrance. This recess is open to the circular apart- 
ment, and a stone bench runs round three of its sides. 
Here is the largest window in the whole structure, 
though small indeed, yet it affords a pleasant look-out 
towards Crookhill and Clifton. This window has a 
contrivance for sliding a massive beam before it. It 
was the only entrance for light, into what appears to 
have been the principal apartment. 

The ascent to the next story is by a flight of thirty- 
four steps, with one loophole light in the ascent, and 
another at the landing place. The apartment we now 
arrive at is like the last, but wider, for the reasons 
before given. It has a fire-place, recess, and lavatory, 
differing but little from those in the room below, 
except that the recess is smaller. The door of egress 
is again placed nearly opposite to the entrance, and 



30 CONISBOROUGH CASTLE. 

the access to it was by crossing the apartment ; it is 
now by passing along the lenching. Walking along 
this ledge we arrive at a doorway leading to one of 
the most interesting parts of this curious fabric, — a 
chapel, or oratory, formed in the thickness of the 
wall, and one of the buttresses. This apartment is an 
irregular hexagon, in length twelve feet, its breadth in 
the middle is eight feet, and at each end six feet. In 
the roof are two pairs of cross arches, springing from 
six circular columns, having Norman capitals. Though 
slightly differing in the style of its architecture, this 
room is an integral part of the original design, and has 
evidently been devoted to the uses of Christian 
worship, as the lavatory and the piscina of an altar 
yet remain. A doorway on the left of the entrance to 
the chapel leads to a small room, lighted by a loop- 
hole, which appears to have been a kind of vestry. 
Here is nothing to be seen but a niche with a trefoil 
head. In the passage from the circular chamber, just 
described, is a winding irregular way to a second 
closet. The steps of this flight are narrow and in- 
convenient, the walls at this elevation being much 
reduced in thickness, by the widening of the apart- 
ments. At the head of this flight has been a circular 
room, like those below ; but the circular parts of the wall 
are broken down, and all which remains are the tops of 
the six buttresses, rising to the height of about nine 
feet above the level of the floor. In each of tliese 
buttresses is a hollow place, not unlike an oven. In 
one of these are twelve small apertures, which may 



CONISBOROUGH CASTLE. 31 

have been intended for throwing down boiKng water, 
or molten lead upon the besiegers. Over the alcove, 
in one of the buttresses, has evidently been a small 
room, a portion of its window still remaining ; and 
in another a flight of steps, which may be supposed 
to have led to a Avatchman's station in this, the 
highest part of the castle. No trace of any roof 
remains. Such is this far famed keep, which has 
given rise to more conjecture, and been more 
frequently the subject of the pen and the pencil, 
than perhaps any other ruin of its kind in the 
kingdom. Whatever may be thought of the era of 
its erection, there can be no doubt respecting the 
purpose it was intended to serve, which was evidently 
as a last retreat for the inhabitants of the castle ; 
who here, if anywhere, must have found a fortress 
that was impregnable. 

The view from the top, though not very extensive, 
is varied and highly beautiful, extending over the 
richly wooded valley of the Don, a broad and navig- 
able stream ; overlooking its confluence with the 
Dearne, a smaller stream from the moorlands of the 
west, above Barnsley. The South Yorkshire Railway 
runs along the valley just below the ruin, and then 
dives by a short tunnel under a wooded hill, and 
though not quite in character with the solemnity that 
always hovers over a venerable ruin, enlivens the 
scene, and gives us an opportunity of comparing the 
present with the past. The country around is beauti- 
fully varied by hills and valleys, and generally thickly 



32 CONISBOROUGH CASTLE. 

wooded, the oak and ash being the prevaihng trees ; 
the dark, solemn yew is also a common tree in the 
hedges. 

The village of Conisborough is well built and hand- 
some ; pleasantly situated, on the top and sides of a 
hill, with the Sheffield and Doncaster turnpike road on 
one side, and the South Yorkshire Railway and Don 
Navigation on the other.* 

The church is a spacious and lofty edifice, consisting 
of a nave, side aisles, and chancel, with a tower at 
the west end. On the south side is a porch, having 
a circular doorway, with chevron mouldings. The 
aisles are evidently of the same age with the body of 
the church ; and are each separated from it by three 
circular arches, springing from low, cylindrical columns. 
The capitals of these columns are variously orna- 
mented ; in some of them the Norman volute and 
foilage appear. A single glance is sufficient to show 
that this church belongs to an early era of churcli 
architecture. 

Conisborough is five miles distant from Doncaster, 
and seven from Rotherham, from which places it is 
easily accessible by means of the South Yorkshire 
Railway. 

* " In the immediate neighbourhood of Conisborough are six market 
towns, 121 villages, three stone bridges, forty water mills, six noblemen's 
seats, sixty seats of gentlemen, fifty parks, and two navigable rivers." — 
Baines' Yoi'k shire. 



33 



^0tttcfrad Castle. ^ 

The castle of Pontefract is one of the most cele- 
brated in English history. The origin of the town is 
unknown, and the etymology of its name has been a 
matter of dispute. Camden says, that in the Saxon 
times the name of the town was Kirkby, which was 
changed by the Normans to Pontefract, because of 
a broken bridge that was there. It appears to have 
been a burgh in the time of Edward the Confessor ; 
but how long it had enjoyed that privilege is un- 
certain. At that period, the manor is supposed to 
have belonged to the king, as no Saxon proprietor is 
mentioned in Domesday book. After the Conquest, 
this manor, with one hundred and fifty others in 
Yorkshire, besides ten in Nottinghamshire, and four 
in Lincolnshire, were given by William, to Hildebert, 
or Ilbert de Lacy, one of his Norman followers. This 
powerful baron undertook the stupendous work of 
erecting Pontefract castle, which he commenced early 
in the reign of king William, and completed in the 
year 1080. This castle was built on an elevated rock, 
commanding a most extensive and picturesque view of 
the surrounding country. Its situation contributed 
greatly to its strength, and rendered it almost im- 
pregnable. It was not commanded by any contiguous 

D 



34 PONTEFRACT CASTLE. 

hill, and the only way it could be taken was by 
blockade. In its perfect condition, the state rooms of 
the castle were large, and accommodated with offices 
suited to the residence of a prince. The first member 
of the castle which merits notice is the barbacan ; ""^ 
this was situate on the west side of the outer yard, 
and formed the entrance into the castle called the west 
gate house. A similar tower, with a drawbridge, stood 
near the Booths, and formed the entrance on the 
east, and was called the east gate house. The third 
gate was called the south gate, and opened into the 
road leading to Darrington and Doncaster, at the 
bottom of what is now called the castle garth. This 
gate led to another in the centre of the wall, which 
runs across the area from the east to the west gate, 
and was called the middle gate. The north side of 
this area was formed by the south wall of the ballium, 
or great castle yard, in the centre of which was the 
porter's lodge — the grand entrance into the yard of 
the castle. All these gates might be, and frequently 
were, used as watch towers. The whole of this area 
was sometimes called the barbacan, and within it stood 
the king's stables and a large barn. 

Near the barbacan, and close to the west entrance, 
was the main guard, a place of considerable magnitude 
and strength. A deep moat or ditch was cut on the 
west side of the castle, extending from the west gate, 
round the great tower to the north ; and another on 

* Bootiiroyd's Pontefract, p. 163. 



PONTEFRACT CASTLE. 35 

the east, extending from the constable's tower along to 
the east gate. 

The wall of the ballium, or great castle yard, was 
high, and flanked with seven towers, called the round 
tower, the red tower, Treasurer's or pix tower, Swil- 
lington tower. Queen's tower. King's tower, and Con- 
stable's tower. The walls of the balliura had a parapet, 
and the merlons were pierced with long chinks ending 
in eyelets. Within the ballium were the lodgings and 
barracks for the garrison and artificers, the Chapel of 
St. Clement, and the magazine. On an eminence at 
the western extremity of the ballium stood the keep, 
here called the round tower. This was the citadel, or 
last retreat of the garrison. It was generally, in large 
castles, a tower five or six stories in height, having 
turrets at each angle ; and here there were six, three 
large and three small ones. Such was this renowned 
fortress in its day of prosperity, at once a palace and 
a prison. We now turn to the history of its princely 
lords, and to the catalogue of crime and bloodshed by 
which it has been distinguished. 

Ilbert de Lacy was succeeded in his possessions here 
by his son Robert, commonly called Robert of Ponte- 
fract, from the circumstance of his being born at this 
town. Robert enjoyed his vast possessions in peace 
during the reign of William Rufus ; but after the 
accession of Henry I., he imprudently joined with 
Robert duke of Normandy, the king's brother, who 
claimed the crown of England. In consequence of 
this transaction, Robert de Lacy was banished the 



30 rONTEFRACT CASTLE. 

realm ; and the castle and honour of Pontefract were 
giv^en b}^ the king to Henry Traverse, and afterward to 
Henry Delaval. The history of the Lacys is in this 
part somewhat obscure ; but it appears that Robert 
was restored to his paternal domains after a few years' 
exile ; and dying in the latter part of the reign of 
Henry I., left two sons, Ilbert and Henry, the first of 
whom inherited his vast estates. Ilbert, dying without 
issue, was succeeded by his brother Henry, who left 
his possessions to his son Kobert. This Robert dying 
without issue in 1193, the estate and honour of Ponte- 
fract devolved on his uterine sister, Aubrey de Lisours, 
who carried these estates of the Lacys by marriage to 
Richard Fitz Eustace, constable of Chester. The 
estates of both these noble families descended to John 
Fitz Eustace, who accompanied Richard I. in his 
crusade, and is said to have died at Tyre in Palestine. 
Roger, his eldest son, who was also engaged in that 
expedition, succeeded to his honours and estates. He 
continued with Richard, and was present at the 
memorable siege of Acre, where he greatly contributed 
to the success of the christian arms. After his return 
to England, he rendered himself terrible to the hardy 
mountaineers of Wales, whose incursions he often and 
vigorously repelled. He was the first of this family 
that took the name of Lacy. The estate and honour 
of Pontefract continued in that illustrious name till the 
year 1310, when Henry de Lacy, through default of 
male issue, left his possessions to his daughter and 
heiress, Alice, who was married to Thomas earl of 



PONTEFRACT CASTLE. 37 

Lancaster ; and in case of a failure of male issue from 
that marriage, he entailed them on the king and his 
heirs. 

The earl of Lancaster was one of the chief opponents 
of Piers Gavestone, the favourite of Edward IL, and 
was one of the chief instruments in compassing his 
death : he was afterwards at the head of the con- 
federated barons opposed to the younger Spenser, 
another favourite of the weak Edward. His army was 
defeated, and himself taken prisoner at the battle of 
Boroughbridge, March 16th, 1322. He was brought 
to the castle of Pontefract, treated with great indignity, 
and exposed to the insults of the soldiery. He was 
there imprisoned in a tower which " he had newly 
made towards the abbey."''^' It is probable that this 
was Swillington tower, which seems to have been 
designed as a place of close confinement. This tower 
was square, its walls of great strength, being ten feet 
and a half thick ; nor was there ever any entrance into 
the interior, except by a hole, or trap-door in the floor 
of the turret ; so that the prisoner must have been let 
down into this abode of darkness, from whence there 
could be no possible way of escape.f A few days 
after, the king being at Pontefract, ordered him to be 
arraigned in the hall of the castle, before a small 
number of peers, among whom were the Sponsors, his 
mortal enemies. The result of his trial was such as 
might have been expected. The earl was condemned 

* Leland. 

t Boothroyd's Pontefract, p. 96. 



38 PONTEFRACT CASTLE. 

to be hanged, drawn, and quartered ; but through 
respect to his royal blood the sentence was changed to 
decapitation. After judgment was passed, he said, 
" Shall I die without answer 1 '' He was not, however, 
permitted to speak in his own defence ; but a Gascon 
took him away, and having put an old hood over his 
head, set him on a lean mare, without a bridle. Being- 
attended by a Dominican friar as his confessor, he was 
carried out of the town amidst the insults of the 
soldiers. Having reached the hill where he was to 
suffer, he kneeled down, and the executioner severed 
his head from his body. The prior and monks having 
begged his remains of the king, buried them near the 
high altar of the neighbouring priory. Thus fell Thomas 
earl of Lancaster, first prince of the blood, being uncle 
to Edward II., who condemned him to death. His 
fate involved that of many others. On the day of his 
execution, several lords, his adherents, were hanged at 
Pontefract ; and on the day following, others were 
executed at York. The earl perished amidst the 
insults of a military rabble, and was branded with the 
odious name of traitor. But the people, who regarded 
him as the martyr of liberty, venerated him as a saint. 
It was even pretended that miracles were wrought at 
his tomb, and he was afterwards canonised at the 
request of Edward III., the son of the monarch who 
put him to death. 

The next royal blood which stained Pontefract 
castle, was that of Richard II., who, in 1399, was 
deposed, and afterwards murdered in the castle here. 



PONTEFRACT CASTLE. 39 

Various opinions are, however, entertained relative to 
his death. Some historians assert that he was in- 
humanly starved to death ; whilst others tell us, that 
Sir Piers Exton, one of the domestics of Henry IV., 
was sent down with eight ruffians to murder him ; 
w^hich it is said w^as executed in the following manner : 
they entered his chamber when he was alone, and 
unarmed, and attempted to lay hold on him ; but 
perceiving their deadly errand, he snatched a pole axe 
from one of his assailants, and so furiously attacked 
them, that he laid four of them dead at his feet. 
Whilst combatting with the rest of the murderers, 
Exton mounted on a chair behind him, and struck him 
down with the blow of a pole axe. 

In the succeeding reign of Henry IV., Richard 
Scrope, archbishop of York, who was in arms against 
the king, after being insidiously taken prisoner by the 
earl of Westmorland, at Shipton, near York, was in 
this castle condemned to death. The sentence was 
executed near Bishopthorpe, June 8th, 1405. 

In 1483, Anthony Woodville, earl Rivers, Richard 
lord Grey, Sir Thomas Vaughan, and Sir Richard 
Hawte, were committed to this castle by the mandate 
of Richard, duke of Gloucester; and shortly afterwards, 
in order to clear his way to the throne, basely 
murdered without any legal trial. 

' ' Rest, gentle Rivers ! and ill-fated Grey ! 

A flower, or tear oft strews your humble grave; 
Whom envy slew to pave ambition's way, 
And whom a monarch wept in A'ain to save." 



40 ' rONTEFRACT CASTLE. 

During the "Pilgrimage of Grace/' in '1536, this 
castle was besieged by the insurgents under the com- 
mand of the famous Robert Aske. The archbishop of 
York, and lord Darcy, had thrown themselves into the 
fortress, but secretly fayouring the cause of the rebels, 
the castle was soon surrendered, and the prelate and 
nobleman, seeming to yield to the force imposed on 
them, joined the rebels. 

From this time to the reign of Charles I. few 
matters of importance occur in the history of Ponte- 
fract. At the commencement of dissension between 
the king and parliament, the castle was garrisoned by 
the royalists ; nor was it till after the victory on 
Marston Moor, and the surrender of York to the arms 
of the parliament, that any attempt was made to 
reduce it, when detachments were sent out to besiege 
the castles occupied by the king's forces, and amongst 
the rest that of Pontefract. The command of the 
detachment sent to this place was given to Colonel 
Sands, who in the month of August, 1644, fell in with 
a party of the enemy sent out to protect some cattle, 
routed them, took all the cattle, and made several 
prisoners. Colonel Sands for some time watched the 
motions of the enemy, and endeavoured to cut off their 
foraging parties, rather than form a regular siege ; and 
indeed the strength of the place, and the courage and 
prudence of the royalists, rendered necessary a much 
greater force than he possessed. The success, however, 
of the parliamentary generals, had now set many of 
the troops at liberty, and they soon marched to the 



PONTEFRACT CASTLE. 41 

assistance of Colonel Sands. Sir Thomas Fairfax, as 
the superior officer, took the command ; and in the 
beginning of December, he drove in the garrison, 
possessed himself of the town, and on Christmas day 
closely besieged the castle.'" 

Some of the royalists, protected by the fire of their 
friends from the castle, kept for a few days possession 
of the low-church. The enemy sensible of the im- 
portance of this position, prepared to dislodge them ; 
and on the 29th of December commenced their attack. 
The royalists defended the church for some time 
with bravery and resolution ; all their efforts were, 
however, unavailing, for their opponents obliged them 
to retreat, and obtained possession of the church. 
In this action, the royalists lost captain Waterhouse, 
of Netherton, three privates, and eleven wounded. 
The loss of the enemy, though victorious, was much 
greater. They are said to have had sixty killed and 
forty wounded. 

On the 19th of January, 1645, after an incessant 
cannonade against the walls of the castle, the 
pix tower gave way, and, by its fall, carried part 
of the walls along with it, by which a breach 
was made : but whilst the castle was thus assailed, 
its defenders were not inactive. A shot from the 
castle struck a match belonging to the enemy, and, 
some sparks falling into the gunpowder, it exploded, 
and killed twenty-seven men. By a well-directed 
fire of musketry, the beseiged obliged their enemy 

* Whitelock, p. 102. 



42 PONTEFRACT CASTLE. 

to keep their distance, and frequently did considerable 
execution.'"' 

The breach above alluded to having been effected, 
the besiegers hoped that the castle would be surren- 
dered. On the 21st of January, colonel Forbes 
sent a drum to the gate of the castle, which beat a 
parley. The governor, colonel Lowther, and his brave 
garrison, rejected the proposals of the enemy for a 
surrender, and resolved to defend the place to the last 
€xtremity. The parliamentary general not deeming it 
practicable to enter by the breach, ordered mines to 
be sprung, to blow up the walls and the towers ; but 
on the discovery of this attempt, the besieged began to 
countermine, and sunk within the castle, or close to 
its walls, more than a hundred pits, from whence they 
commenced their mines. The operations of the siege, 
however, went regularly on, till the garrison was 
reduced to great distress for want of provisions. At 
this period, Sir Marmaduke Langdale, one of the 
royalist generals, making a rapid march from Oxford 
at the head of 2,000 horse, arrived at Pontefract, and 
attacked the besiegers, who were then commanded by 
colonels Lambert and Forbes. The garrison, at the 
same time, made a vigorous sortie ; and the parlia- 
mentarians, being defeated after an obstinate engage- 
ment, retired in disorder and with a considerable loss 
to Ferrybridge, and from thence towards Sherburn 
and Tadcaster, being closely pursued by the royalists. 
After obtaining this signal victory, and obliging the 

* BooTHROYD's roiitefract, p. 175. 



PONTEFRACT CASTLE. 43 

enemy to raise the siege, Sir Marmaduke Langdale, 
having refreshed his men for a few days, retired to 
Doncaster, and from thence to Newark. 

After general Langdale's departure, the parha- 
mentarian troops again collected, and the royalists in 
Pontefract castle had to sustain a second siege. On 
the 21st of March, 1645, the enemy took possession 
of the town ; and after four months of incessant 
cannonades, attacks, and sorties, the garrison, being 
reduced to a state of famine, surrendered the castle by 
an honourable capitulation, on the 20th of July. Sir 
Thomas Fairfax was appointed governor ; but as he 
was sufficiently employed in the field, he placed 
colonel Cotterel in the castle as his substitute. 

As the royal party seemed now subdued, and the 
war drawing near to a conclusion, only one hundred 
men were left with Cotterel in garrison. The king's 
friends, therefore, formed a scheme for regaining that 
fortress, of which they well knew the importance. On 
the 6th of June, 1648, the governor having given 
orders for bringing some beds and provisions out of 
the country, colonel Morrice being commissioned by 
general Langdale, and accompanied by nine officers, 
disguised like peasants, having arms concealed beneath 
their garments, appeared at the castle gates, with carts 
laden with beds, provisions, &c. On their arrival the 
draw-bridge was let down, and the beds, &c., being- 
delivered to the main guard, money was given to 
some of the soldiers to fetch ale. Scarcely had these 
departed, when Morrice and his party attacked and 



44 PONTEFRACT CASTLE. 

mastered the main guard, and made way for their con- 
federates to enter. Captain WilHam Paulden, and 
some others, then went to the apartment of the deputy 
governor, whom they made prisoner, after a determined 
resistance. Having now made themselves masters of 
the castle, they were soon joined by thirty horse and 
five hundred foot, part of the king's scattered troops, 
and Sir John Digby was made governor. 

In the month of October, 1648, the third siege of 
Pontefract commenced. General Rainsborough was 
appointed to the command of the army ; but sub- 
sequently Oliver Cromwell undertook, in person, to 
conduct the siege. Having remained a month before 
this fortress, without being able to make any impres- 
sion on its massy walls, Cromwell found it necessary to 
join the grand army, under Fairfax ; and general 
Lambert being appointed commander of the forces 
before the castle, arrived in Pontefract on the 4th of 
December. 

This able general formed new w^orks, made regular 
approaches, and pushed the siege with the greatest 
vigour. The besieged, how^ever, were not discouraged 
by his efforts. On the 30th of January, 1649, the king 
was beheaded ; and the news of this event no sooner 
reached Pontefract, than the garrison proclaimed his 
son Charles XL, and made a vigorous and destructive 
sally against their enemies. But, notwithstanding the 
sorties of the garrison, and the losses which the be- 
siegers sustained, the prudence, perseverance, and 
activity of Lambert deprived the royalists of all hope 



PONTEFRACT CASTLE. 45 

of deliverance. On the 25tli of March, 1649, the 
garrison being reduced from between five and six 
hundred men to one hundred, and some of these unfit 
for duty, surrendered by capitulation. Only six per- 
sons being excepted from mercy, who, however, con- 
trived to escape. 

For the space of many centuries this magnificent 
and formidable castle was the ornament and terror of 
the surrounding country ; but now, its stubborn re- 
sistance was conquered, and the period of its humilia- 
tion come. The tremendous effects of artillery had 
shattered its walls ; and its demolition was com- 
pleted by order of parliament. Within two months 
after its reduction, the buildings were unroofed, and 
all the valuable materials sold ; and the princely 
fortress, wdiich had long been considered the glory 
and pride of Pontefract, reduced to a heap of ruins. 
At this day little even of these ruins remain ; but 
when they shall have disappeared, the vast and solid 
mound will still continue to mark the spot, and excite 
serious reflections on the instability of human greatness. 

The principal, and highest part remaining is a frag- 
ment of the keep, situate on the western side of the area, 
and consisting of the remains of two massive round 
towers, with some connecting walls. The first glance at 
the ruins of the once proud fortress of Pontefract is any- 
thing but prepossessing ; presenting to the eye the ap- 
pearance of a vast mass of rubbish ; however, on nearing 
it, we find that it is a pile of masonry, worn, and 
shattered by time and violence ; but yet sufficient to 



46 PONTEFRACT CASTLE. 

convey an idea of what it had been when in its perfect 
state. After passing what was once the inner ditch, 
now filled up, and converted into garden grounds, with 
feelings in no ordinary degree excited by the history 
of this blood-stained pile, we approach the principal 
entrance, which is by a wide flight of steps, passing in 
an indirect manner through the wall. Passing this 
entrance we are in the area of the castle, and turning 
to the left we reach another flight of steps, after 
ascending which we are in the basement story of the 
keep, which has been considerably raised by artificial 
means above any other portion of the castle. It is 
a circle, about 64 feet in diameter ; with three or 
four passages leading from it to singular and myste- 
rious places within its walls. Descending along one 
of them, we come to the outside of the castle, by a low 
sally port ; returning by the same broken stair, we 
find a passage branching off" on the left hand, which 
cannot be explored without a light, which having 
provided, we follow its windings downward, until the 
passage becomes choked up, and our further progress 
arrested. Tradition says, that this passage led under 
the moat and came out on the hill in the park, nearly 
a mile distant. Another turn of the same passage 
appears to have led to a well. These holes and pas- 
sages are all within the round tower next the entrance, 
which, but for these openings, is one solid mass of 
masonry. In the other round tower is a small square 
room, probably designed for a dungeon, for we cannot 
imagine it adapted for any other purpose. A little 



PONTEFRACT CASTLE. 47 

beyond tliis, on the right hand, are remains of a great 
staircase, leading up to the state apartments above, 
which are now all destroyed. There does not appear 
to have been any openings for the admission of light 
and air into the lower apartments of the keep, except 
by the door. While looking into the deep, mysterious 
dens, and exploring the narrow, dark passages of this 
" bloody prison," the mind instinctively recalls the 
murderous deeds which have been enacted within these 
walls, and a thrill of horror runs through the frame. 

On the right of the steps leading up into the keep, 
a loophole pierces the wall, and lets us see its immense 
thickness. Fronting the foot of the stairs, at a little 
distance, is a square hole like the mouth of a well, 
which has either been the entrance of a most horrid 
dungeon, or the inward mouth of some very singular 
subterraneous sally port. It is very deep, but quite 
dry ; the sides are neatly lined with stone, and on that 
which is nearest the foot of the stairs, on looking down, 
appears, at a great depth, a very high arch, leading to 
some vault or passage. 

Passing along the north-west side of the area, we 
come to a low chamber, arched with rough stones, 
formed in the thickness of the wall, about fourteen feet 
wide and nine feet high in the middle. Tradition 
points this out as the place where king Richard II. 
was confined and murdered ; but the smallness of the 
room hardly agrees with what is related of the manner 
of his death, by the blow of a pole axe from Sir Piers 
Exton. Yet it would be quite a fitting place where 



48 PONTEFRACT CASTLE. 

he might be starved to death ; and such was the state- 
ment made by archbishop Scrope and the confederate 
lords soon after the event. 

Another singular underground place, near the centre 
of the area is called the powder magazine. It is cut 
out of the solid rock, and is 27 feet below the surface 
of the ground ; the descent to it is by a passage four 
feet wide, down a flight of 43 steps. The entrance at 
the bottom is through a low, round-headed arch ; on 
the right of the entrance are two small semi-circular 
recesses in the wall, about a foot deep and two feet 
wide each. On the back of the second, among other 
names cut on the stone is T. Elliott, 1647. The main 
body of the place is eighteen feet in length, by about 
ten in breadth, with four cavities, or cells, on the one 
side, and two on the other. These are simply hewn 
out of the rock, with a kind of rude pillar in front. 
Light is admitted by a square hole, like a well, from 
above. At the seventeenth step on the right hand, was 
the entrance into a large dungeon, which is now walled 
up. Many names are cut upon the soft stone on the 
sides of the passage ; some with dates. The following 
three, which are easy to see, were officers in the 
castle during the last sieges ; — 

1648 John Smith 16 Geo. 48 

John Grant 1648 Beale 

The whole area occupied by this stupendous fortress 
has been about seven acres, which is now converted 
into orchards and garden ground ; much of it being 
devoted to the raising of liquorice, a plant which thrives 



PONTEFRACT CASTLE. 49 

exceedingly in this neighbourhood. The view of the 
town and country from the highest part of the castle 
is at once extensive, interesting, and highly beautiful. 
Towards the west and north-west, the eye glances 
over Houghton and Castleford, along the fruitful val- 
leys watered by the rivers Aire and Calder ; over 
towns and villages, woods and plantations, including 
the parks and mansions of Methley and Temple New- 
sam, and the country as far as the hills of Craven. 
To the north, and north-east the view is equally ex- 
tensive, though not marked by such picturesque and 
interesting features ; the home landscape is varied and 
beautiful, and the towers of York minster are seen 
rising from the level plain, with the eastern moorlands 
far in the dim horizon. Towards the east, the eye 
follows the course of the Aire, reposes with pleasure 
upon the woods around Fryston, marks the twin 
mounts of Brayton Barf and Hambleton Heugh, near 
the course of the Ouse, and rests upon the blue out- 
line of the Yorkshire Wolds, which limit the vision in 
that direction. On the south-east, the prospect em- 
braces the county of York on that side, with parts of 
the adjoining counties of Lincoln and Nottingham. 
The south, and south-west prospect overlooks rich 
home scenery, and is closed by the hills of Derbyshire. 
At hand, the town lies almost beneath our feet, with 
its railways, villas, churches, gardens, streets, and 
houses. 



50 



S antral Castle. 

The manor of Wakefield, of which Sandal is a 
member, formed part of the great Warren fee, of 
which Conisborough castle was the capital. John, the 
eighth and last earl of Warren, succeeded his grand- 
father in the barony, in the year 1304; his father 
having been killed in a tournament, in 1286. To this 
earl, Edward I. gave his grand- daughter, Joan de 
Barr, in marriage. The marriage was issueless, and 
not a happy one. Both parties earnestly sued for a 
divorce ; but the law of the Church was uncom- 
promising. It could not, however, prevent the earl 
from estranging himself from her, and she lived on a 
revenue derived from the Warren estates. Separated 
from his wife, he cohabited with one Maud de 
Nerford, a lady of rank, in the county of Norfolk ; 
and if either of his pleas, proximity of blood, and 
precontract with Maud, would have been allowed, to 
enable him to obtain a divorce from Joan de Barr, it 
appears she would have become countess of Warren. 
She had produced him two sons, who were called John 
de Warren, and Thomas de Warren ; and on these 
sons, it was the desire and design of the earl, that 
Conisborough, and all his other property north of 
Trent should descend. 



SANDAL CASTLE. 51 

As a residence for this favourite mistress, the earl 
built the castle or manor house of Sandal, about the 
year 1320. Surviving both the lady and the two sons 
she bore him, on his death in 1347, his estates came 
into the possession of the crown. 

In the reign of Edward III., John Baliol resided for 
some time in this castle, until an army was raised to 
establish him on the throne of Scotland. 

In 1446, Richard, duke of York, entered into pos- 
session of Sandal, on the death of the countess of 
Cambridge ; and before its walls, on the 24th of 
December, 1460, he was slain in battle. Having laid 
claim to the crown during the reign of the imbecile 
Henry VL, after many battles, and much bloodshed, 
an agreement was made, that Henry should enjoy the 
crown during his life, and that Eichard, duke of York, 
should be his successor. The king appeared satisfied 
with this arrangement ; but the queen was not so 
passive. Seeing her son, the prince of Wales, deprived 
of his succession to the throne, she exerted herself so 
successfully with the northern barons, as to draw 
together an army of 22,000 men. The duke was soon 
informed that she was endeavouring to levy an army, 
but did not know that she had made such great 
progress. Thinking to interrupt, or prevent her 
designs, he departed from London on the 20th of 
December, with only 4000 or 5000 men, giving orders 
to his son Edward, earl of March, to join him with the 
rest of his army. In advancing northward he received 
the news of the queen's success in levying troops. 



52 SANDAL CASTLE. 

When in the vicinity of Wakefield, he heard that she 
was advancing against him with greatly superior 
numbers. On this he resolved to retire to his castle 
of Sandal, till his son should join him with the rest of 
his army. 

The queen provoked to see her hated enemy thus 
secure from attack, used every means to induce him to 
leave his strong post ; and after placing an ambush on 
each side of Wakefield Green, appeared before the 
walls of Sandal with the main body of her army, led 
by the dukes of Somerset and Exeter ; and by menaces, 
defiances, and insults, endeavoured to provoke her 
enemy to battle. Unfortunately for himself, the duke 
suffered his courage to get the better of his prudence ; 
he marched out of the castle, and drew up his forces 
on Wakefield Green, December 24th, 1460. He had 
no sooner arranged his little army, than he was 
attacked by the queen's troops in front, and the 
ambuscades on each flank, being at once surrounded, 
and his retreat to the castle cut off. In less than 
half an hour his whole army was routed, and himself 
slain, while fighting valiantly hand to hand with his 
enemies. His second son, the earl of Rutland, a 
youth of seventeen years of age, flying from the 
sanguinary scene, was overtaken by lord Clifford, who 
plunged his dagger into his breast, notwithstanding 
the earnest entreaties of his tutor to spare his life. 
Lord Clifford afterwards finding the duke of York's 
body, cut off the head, and crowning it with a 
paper crown, fixed it on the point of his lance, and 



SANDAL CASTLE. 53 

presented it, an acceptable gift, to queen Margaret, 
who ordered it to be carried to York, and placed 
over Micklegate Bar, with the face toward the city. 
Near 3,000 Yorkists were slain in this battle. 

This castle was for some time the residence of 
Richard, duke of Gloucester, afterwards king of 
England. 

From its erection to its destruction, this castle was 
the court, or manor house of the extensive fee of 
Wakefield ; and here the Saviles of Thornhill, in whom 
the ofiice of Steward was almost hereditary, occasion- 
ally resided, and always transacted the business of the 
courts. The last event in the history of this castle, 
is the siege it sustained during the civil war between 
Charles I. and the parliament ; when it was held for 
the king by Colonel Bonivant, and surrendered to the 
arms of parliament, in October, 1645. In the follow- 
ing year, in accordance with an order of parliament, 
it was dismantled, and the monument of earl Warren's 
love for Maud Nerford became a heap of ruins. 

The remains of the castle are very insignificant ; 
what from the destroying hand of man, and the 
mouldering effects • of time, the fortress has disap- 
peared, and a diminutive ruin marks the place where 
it stood. No lofty gateway, no grim and massive 
keep, with frowning battlements, overlooks the vale 
below ; no remains of banquetting hall, where the 
feudal noble displayed his little less than regal splen- 
dour, are to be seen ; all gone, all vanished. Some 
small fragments of grout work, from which the out- 



64 SANDAL CASTLE. 

side face of hewn stone has been stripped, remain, 
serving to show the thickness of the walls ; while the 
whole area where the castle stood is covered with 
hillocks of rubbish. The moat which surrounded the 
edifice in its pristine strength, yet remains, wide and 
deep ; in some places fifteen yards below the level of 
the rubbish mounds above ; and, true to its first 
purpose, parts of it yet contain water. The site is of 
a circular form, overgrown with grass, and partly with 
trees, some of the latter, especially near the bottom 
of the moat, being of great height and age. The 
situation is high, and strong, commanding an extensive 
prospect over the surrounding country, including the 
town of Wakefield and the vale of Calder, to the west, 
a most luxuriant landscape, studded at intervals with 
towns and villages, busy hives of manufacturing 
industry. 

Wakefield, close to which is Sandal castle, is one of 
the most interesting towns in the county, being placed 
in a delightful situation, on a gently rising ground, on 
the north bank of the Calder. The chapel upon the 
bridge is a gem of architectural beauty, unsurpassed, 
if equalled, by any of similar building in England. 



55 



^dh^ i^tkg. 



Of the abbey of Selby we have but inconsiderable 
remains left, with the exception of the church ; but 
that is of such beauty, and in such a state of repair, 
that we little regret the loss of the other conventual 
buildings. After the dissolution of the monastery, it 
was converted into a parish church,'" and to this we 
owe the preservation of one of the most elegant eccle- 
siastical fabrics in the county ; and, with ordinary care 
it will continue for ages yet to come, a splendid monu- 
ment of monastic piety and skill in architecture. 

This abbey was founded by William the Conqueror, 
in the year 1069, for monks of the order of St. Bene- 
dict ; and dedicated to the honour of St. Mary and 
St. Germanus, who suppressed what was called the 
Pelagian heresy. In the following year, that monarch, 
coming to Selby to settle the endowment, his queen, by 
whom he was accompanied, was here delivered of her 
youngest son Henry, afterwards king of England. 
And it was probably on that account that this abbey 

* What a pity it is that a few more of the splendid abbey churches were 
not made parochial. Among the few thus preserved in Yorkshire, besides 
that of Selby, we can only enumerate those of Bolton, Old Malton, Bridling- 
ton, (of the two latter, parts of the nave only are preserved, the rest in ruin 
or removed,) and St. Mary's, Scarborough (not entire) ; so that Selby may be 
called the only complete specimen remaining. 



56 * SELBY ABBEY. 

was favoured by the succeeding kings, his descendants, 
with great privileges, as well as adorned with magnifi- 
cent buildings. 

The Conqueror freed the monks from all exactions, 
and gave them all such customs as the cathedral at 
York then enjoyed ; he also granted them a court with 
sac, soc, team, and infangtheof/^ 

Pope Alexander II., A.D. 1076, granted to the abbot 
and his successors for ever, the privilege of using the 
ring,t mitre, pastoral staff, dalmatic coat, gloves, and 
sandals ; of blessing the palls of the altar, and other 
ecclesiastical ornaments ; and of conferring the first 
tonsures : all of which were on the 30th of March, 
1808, confirmed by William Greenfield, archbishop, 
and by the dean and chapter of York. It may here 

* jSac. — A privilege wliicli a lord of a manor claims to have in his court, of 
holding pleas in causes of trespass arising among his tenants, and of imposing 
fines and amerciments touching the same. 

Soc. — A power or liberty to minister justice and execute laws ; also the 
circuit or territory wherein such power is exercised. 

Team, or Theam, signifies a royalty granted by the king's charter to the 
lord of the manor, for the having, restrahiing, and judging bondmen, neifs, 
and villains, with their children, goods, and chattels, within his court. 

InJ-cmgthcof. — The power of judging thieves or robbers, when found within 
the liberty or jurisdiction of the manor or territory. 

t The dalmatic or seamless coat of Christ, signified holy and immaculate 
piety ; the mitre was emblematical of Christ, the head of the church, whose 
figure bishops bore ; the crosier, or pastoral staflf, their pastoral care ; the 
gloves, because occasionally worn or laid aside, typified the concealment of 
good works for shunning vanity, and the demonstration of them for edification ; 
the ring, that as Christ was the spouse of the church, and scripture mysteries 
were to be sealed from unbelievers, and revealed to the church ; and the 
sandals, because, as the foot was neither covered nor naked, so the gospels 
should neither be concealed nor rest upon earthly benefits.— Fosbkoke's 
British Monach., chap. viii. 



SELBY ABBEY. 57 

be observed, that the abbots of Selby, and of St. Mary's 
at York, were the only two mitred abbots in England, 
north of the river Trent. ''^ 

The patronage of this house was conferred by king 
William Rufus upon Thomas, archbishop of York, in 
Heu of the archbishop's claim over that part of Lincoln- 
shire called Lindsey ; but shortly afterwards that 
prelate re-granted the church, and made the monks 
free from all custom, and quit of the consent and 
common council of the clergy, except for Christianity's 
sake ; and, on the occurrence of vacancies, the monks 
had Hcence from the crown to elect their own abbot. 

Kings Henry I., Stephen, John, and Henry HI., 
exempted the monks from danegeld, and various other 
exactions. 

By the charter of Edward ILL, the abbey was 
exempted from all impositions, even of aids for marry- 
ing the king's daughter, or knighting his eldest son. 

Thomas de Whalley, who was abbot of this monas- 
tery in 1280, was deprived in that year ; for on June 
8th, 1279, the archbishop of York visited this abbey, 
and finding him guilty of many omissions of his duty : 
not observing the rule of St. Benedict, of not singing 
mass, of neglecting preaching, of but rarely coming to 
the chapter, or rarely eating in the refectory, never 
lodging in the dormitory, seldom coming into the choir, 
seldom hearing matins out of bed, neglecting visiting 
the sick, and principally eating flesh before the laity 

* Burton's Monast., p. 406. 



58 SELBY ABBEY. 

in the manors and elsewhere ; and also of fornication 
with the lady of Quenby, and with the daughter of one 
Bedeman, who lived at the abbey gates, by whom he 
had issue ; and for alienating the manor of Chattle- 
flower, or Chelleflower, and Stainton, where they had 
fourteen carucates of land ; and by his negligence lost 
the farms of Medford and Stainton, and the tithes of 
Agrum and Gunby, and his liberties within the town 
of Snayth. 

The church of Snaith was given by Gerald, arch- 
bishop of York, to this monastery, about the year 
1100 ; to which it was appropriated as a cell for two 
monks, on the 14th of May, 1110. Besides the 
churches of Snaith and Selby,'"' this house possessed in 
Yorkshire, the churches of Whitgift, Adlingfleet, Bray- 
ton, Carlton, and Kirk Ella, afterwards exchanged 
with Altemprice. There was an hospital at Glanford 
Brigg, in Lincolnshire, subordinate to this abbey, to 
which one of the monks was generally appointed 
master. 

This abbey flourished in great splendour and opu- 
lence till the time of the dissolution ; when, Dec. 6th, 
1539, Thomas Selby, alias Rogers, the last abbot, 
surrendered into the king's hands the fabric with all 
its revenues ; amounting, according to Speed, to the 
gross annual sum of £819. 2s. 6d., and according to 
Dugdale, of £729. 12s. lO^d. net. 

* The parish church, in which service was performed before the dissolution 
of the monasteries, was on the east side of the river. Its site can yet be 
traced. 



SELBY ABBEY. 59 

Two years after its surrender, the site of the abbey 
was granted to Sir Ralph Sadler, knight, in considera- 
tion of £736. paid down, and a rent of £3. 10s. 8d. 
per annum. In the year following, Sir Ralph had 
licence to alienate the site, together with the little 
park and manor of Selby, with its appurtenances, to 
Leonard Beckwith and his heirs. It afterwards des- 
cended to the Walmsleys, of Dunkehalgh, in Lan- 
cashire ; and, by marrying the heiress, it came into the 
family of the Petres, with whom it continued until 
1854, when it was purchased by the earl of Londes- 
borough, the present noble owner. 

The principal monastic buildings were on the west 
and south side of the church. The barn and granary 
are yet remaining, but the great gateway was pulled 
down in 1806. Over this gateway was the abbot's 
court house, and two rooms on the sides for the jury 
and witnesses. On each side of the gate were porters^ 
lodges, and a room to serve the poor. At the south- 
west corner of the church, was a building, in which it 
was pretended Henry I. was born ; but it was of a 
much later date, and is now entirely removed. The 
barn in which the. produce of the abbey lands and 
tithes were deposited, is one of the most remarkable 
buildings of its kind ; it is 313 feet in length, and 29 
feet wide, with walls three feet in thickness, supported 
by buttresses ; and is yet in good repair, and used as a 
barn and stable, the corn being thrashed on the upper 
floor. The beams and pillars in the interior are of the 
most massive kind, and all of oak ; from the solidity 



60 SELBY ABBEY. 

of its construction, and the goodness of the materials, 
though it may have stood six or seven hundred years, 
it shows no symptoms of decay, and may endure as 
many more. The remains of the abbey church"'^ shew 
it to have been a most noble building, erected at 
different times, and in different styles of architecture. 
Its entire length is 276 feet, the breadth 50 feet, and 
the length of the transept 100 feet ; the east and west 
ends being at equal distance from the pillars sup- 
porting the tower ; the height of the tower was no 
doubt in proportion, and must have rendered it a very 
conspicuous object in so level a country. This tower 
fell down on Sunday, the 30th of March, 1690, about 
six o'clock in the morning ; and by its fall destroyed a 
part of the church, particularly the south end of the 
transept, and the roof of the western part of the south 
aisle. The traces of this calamity, from the nature of 
the repairs which followed, may yet be too distinctly 
traced. 

The magnificence, yet comparative simplicity of the 
west front, render it deserving of particular notice, as 
its proportion and decorations merit remark from their 
singularity and elegance. It appears to have been the 
original intention of the architect to place two towers 
on this front ; not only from the external preparations 
made for such a work, but by the massive piers now 



* On the 20th of March, 1618, this church was made parochial by royal 
letters patent, and a minister was appointed by the archbishop of York. The 
Petre family has, however, for many years exercised the right of presentation 
to the perpetual curacy of Selby. 



SELBY ABBEY. 61 

remaining internally. The design was never carried 
into execution, but the angles terminated with lofty 
and well-proportioned pinnacles. 

The entrance is by a large, richly ornamented 
Norman doorway. The ornaments are chevrons, 
double chevrons, and enriched and angular fret work, 
supported on each side by six columns, with simply 
ornamented capitals. The triple arches above the 
doorway are in the pointed style, and the decorations 
partake in character, like many found in the north 
and west doorways, and internal parts of the church. 
The centre arch forms the west window, being con- 
siderably wider than those at the sides, and filled with 
tracery. The walls of the nave and north transept 
are Norman, though few arches and ornaments remain 
on the exterior of that character, being mostly replaced 
by windows, &c., in the pointed style, at different 
periods. The most striking feature on the north side 
is the porch, in that mixed style which prevailed soon 
after the formation of the pointed arch, having circular 
and pointed arches indiscriminately introduced, com- 
posed of the same mouldings. Under it is a Norman 
doorway, less enriched, having only four mouldings, 
but more elegantly proportioned than that at the west 
end.'^ 

To the simple and massy Norman nave is con- 
trasted the beautiful choir, a perfect and splendid 
example of the decorated style of building when in its 
height of perfection, in the reign of Edward III. The 

* Gentleman's Magazine, 1815, vol. ii. p. 105. 



62 SELBY ABBEY. 

proportions are extremely elegant, and the ornaments 
rich, and disposed with correct taste ; forming one 
of the most chaste and magnificent designs in the 
kingdom. The present tower, probably re-built about 
1702, is in a style by no means corresponding with 
the original. The chapter house is a beautiful building, 
attached to the south side of the choir ; the room used 
for that purpose (now the vestry) appears, by its style 
and simplicity, to be of an earlier date. Over it is a 
room, now used as a school. 

The internal architecture of the nave is magnificent 
and massive, and the ornaments of the most elaborate 
and beautiful kind. The middle is divided from the 
side aisles, by eight circular arches, resting on cylindri- 
cal and enriched columns (one of them reticulated), 
with the archivolts adorned with chevrons, &;c. Above 
these is the triforium arcade, with arches of the same 
span as the principals below, resting on pillars of every 
possible kind ; as if the architect had given the rein to 
his fancy to see what he could produce by way of 
variety. One column has twelve isolated dwarf pillars 
surrounding the principal. Above is the clerestory 
arcade, consisting of pointed arches. All of which 
appears to belong to the Anglo-Norman period. The 
windows of the side aisles are of a later date, partaking 
of the character of the decorated style. The groining 
of the south aisle, which was broken down by the fall 
of the tower, has not been restored. 

The four Norman arches at the intersection of the 
great cross aisles, are composed of few mouldings and 



SELBY ABBEY. 63 

ornaments, and please by their simple and massive 
grandeur. 

The choir is in the more light and elegant deco- 
rated style, and is divided from the side aisles by 
seven pointed arches, resting on beautifully clustered 
columns; the whole of the blank wall being adorned 
with statues, &c. 

But the object which attracts most attention is the 
east window ; the proportions of all its parts, the 
beauty of its tracery, and the slender, lofty mullions, 
unsupported by transoms, cannot be exceeded. The 
priests' stalls (of stone) are on the south side of the 
choir. A number of wooden stalls also remain, many 
of the seats of which have been robbed of their 
fantastic and beautiful carving. "When this part of the 
church is cleaned and restored, and the windows again 
filled with stained glass, it will be a scene of rich and 
exquisite beauty. 

The organ, which is said to be a fine-toned and 
powerful instrument, was erected in 1825, by Messrs. 
Renn and Boston, of Manchester, at a cost of about 
400 guineas. 

At the north end of the transept is a chantry chapel, 
erected since the building of the nave or choir. 

In different parts of the floor of the church will be 
seen monumental slabs over the abbots and monks of 
the ancient establishment ; many of them have had 
marginal inscriptions upon them, and many are so 
defaced that they are no longer legible. Near the 
altar-table are two slabs, on which are represented 



64 SELBY ABBEY. 

full length figures of abbots, with the following in- 
scriptions : — 

f it jarrf f MOTtiiis Mil pantom i\W6 IjitjttH iMim^terii 
pi 0teit Mw fvrientr. |i|rilis, mm M. milk ammi atjtts 
mm |r0prietar §mL $mm. 

I^ato tegito juat ]|it tellro |0|es. |0nm. §artoit. 0|e 

Mk M. % Vmu mm fastar limkbilt nmrtis '' 

mrngk Bit ptote pto q. Mil ii. M'. |i}jI anm M. 

The following are some of the inscriptions over the 
monks, and it is a remarkable fact that the date is 
always omitted. In the north aisle of the nave, at the 
west end, we find ; — 

fir juat |0|ites. ire |0ittefr^tt0 Mm mmmimi mmm\m 
m}m um. ^^^mi gnti ^mni 

Near the chantry door ; — 

Jit jmt fxuttx '''' utm mmuttxix mmt\m mjm 

mm. ptitt. §tm. $mm. 

In the south aisle, near the altar ; — 

Jit jaat MulUx C0ttiitgtoit| panirm maitadpts ' isfets 
m0itiisterii. twj. un. ijjciet. |eits. 

To transcribe the epitaphs on the floor and against 
the walls, ancient and modern, would require a volume ; 
we, however, give that of Robert Anby, draper, a man 
beloved both for his honesty, and the good he had done 
to this town, who gave and consecrated to God, and his 
country, a Ring of Bells to the church of St. Germans 
in Selby, in the year of our Lord 1614. It is against 
the wall, at the west corner of the north transept. 

* Words obliterated. 



SELBY ABBEY. . 65 

\^m 0pW ujjtime merited m limmm §n tt mxmmkm \\xjn 
mlm $m\dx §m\m h Selbj, |0r rbBsinm tintiimntatam 
^m tt ptriij t% mtm m t^mm ¥itM, tt iit ler^jrfmtm 
0itMrabit. 1614/' 

On the left of the west entrance, just within the 
doorway, is the burial-place of the family of Morritt, 
formerly of Cawood, now of Rokeby. In the choir are 
some elegant mural monuments to the memory of the 
Petre family. 

This noble church is the glory and pride of Selby, 
and great exertions have been lately made to beautify 
and preserve it. The whole of the west front was 
thoroughly cleaned and repaired in 1748; and in 1828 
the approaches were cleared, and the churchyard en- 
closed with iron palisades, at a cost of £600. Many 
judicious repairs have been made in and about the 
fabric ; but much yet remains to be done before this 
memorial of men, manners, and institutions, which 
have long since disappeared, can be said to challenge 
admiration in all the glories of its pristine beauty. 



60 



Of this castle, once the abode of archiepiscopal 
wealth and magnificence, the remains are but small, 
and our materials for its history are equally scanty. 

The earliest account of this castle states that it was 
erected by king Atheist an, about the year 920. Fifteen 
years afterwards, archbishop Wulstan obtained it of 
that king, for the see of York, and it remained attached 
to it, as an archiepiscopal palace,"' until the time of its 
demolition. 

In the reign of Richard IL, this was the favourite 
residence of archbishop Alexander Neville, who, for his 
attachment to that unfortunate prince, was obliged to 
flee from his country, and died in 1392, an exile at 
Louvain, in extreme poverty. 

In the reign of Henry VL, archbishop Bowett re- 
built the castle or palace here ; and his successor, in 
the see, John Kempe, built the gateway tower, which 
is yet remaining. Kempe was a man of humble parent- 
age, a native of Kent ; he was translated from York 
to Canterbury, became lord high chancellor of England, 

* In addition to this palace and that at Bishopthorpe, the archbishop of 
York had mansions at Sherburn, Eipon, Beverley, and Otley, in this county ; 
also Southwell in Nottinghamshire, with Whitehall and York-place in Lon- 
don, and Battersea in the county of Surry. 



CAWOOD CASTLE. (}7 

and a cardinal of the see of Rome ; died in 1451. 
Archbishop Rotherham died here, May 29th, 1500. 

During the reign of Henry VIII., the celebrated 
cardinal Wolsey resided at this castle a whole summer, 
and part of the winter, when he was preparing to be 
publicly enthroned at York. But he had lost the 
favour of the capricious tyrant whom he had too faith- 
fully served, and his abode here was during the period 
of his disgrace, and the time of his death was fast 
hastening. The earl of Northumberland was sent down 
to arrest him at this place, with instructions to deliver 
his prisoner to the earl of Shrewsbury. On Sunday, 
the 6th of November, 1529, he left Cawood, and pass- 
ing through Pontefract and Doncaster, arrived at Shef- 
field on the 8th. The fallen cardinal was received at 
the manor, with every mark of respect, by the earl of 
Shrewsbury and his family, who stood without the 
gates to welcome his arrival, and treated him more as 
a guest than a prisoner. He remained at the manor 
sixteen days, in a state of deep dejection. He was 
there seized with a mortal malady, and his physicians 
declared that he could not survive more than four or 
five days. Notwithstanding his illness, he was hurried 
towards London to take his trial, mounted on a mule. 
The first night after leaving Shefiield, he slept at 
Hardwick Hall ; the next at Nottingham ; and on the 
third, he arrived at Leicester abbey. "Here,'' says 
Cavendish, his gentleman usher^ " he was welcomed 
with great reverence by the abbot and all the convent, 
to whome my lord, the cardinal, said, ' Father abbote, 



68 CAWOOD CASTLE. 

I am come hether to leave my bones among you/ As 
soon as lie was in his chamber, he went incontinent to 
his bed very sick. This was upon Satterday at nighte, 
and then continued he sicker and sicker, till on Monday 
he died ; '' uttering the memorable exclamation, a 
warning to courtiers, 

"Had I but served my God with half the zeal 
I served my king, he would not in mine age 
Have left me naked to mine enemies." 

The celebrated extempore preacher, Tobias Matthew, 
died here, March 29th, 1628. 

Archbishop Montaigne, who was a native of Cawood, 
the son of a poor farmer, also died in this castle, 
November 6th, 1628. He was buried in the church, 
where is a monument to his memory. 

In 1642, this castle was garrisoned for the king. 
In July, 1643, the garrison from this place made a bold 
attempt to cut off the retreat of the Fairfaxes to Hull, 
with the shattered remains of their army, after the 
disastrous battle of Adderton Moor, by attacking them 
while crossing the ferry at Selby ; but after a sharp 
action, in which Sir Thomas Fairfax was wounded, they 
were beaten back to the fortress. 

In 1644, the castle was surrendered to Sir John 
Meldrum, for the use of the parliament ; and two years 
afterwards, was dismantled and rendered untenable. 

Of the appearance of this castle, when in its com- 
plete state, we have no account : Leland says, 
" Cawood, a very fair castle, longith to the archbishops 
of York, and there is a preati village." 



CAWOOD CASTLE. 69 

The gateway tower alone remains, with a large 
chapel built of brick, now used as a barn. The tower is 
square, built of limestone, and three stories in height, 
with buttresses at the angles. The entrance consists 
of two archways ; the one for carriages is now used as 
a cartshed ; the other forms the entrance into the 
farm-yard. Above the outer arch, which encloses the 
others, on a broad filliting, are cut upon the stone 
eleven shields. Above these, in the second story, is a 
projecting window of three lights ; the top, on the out- 
side, ornamented with finials : looking into the fold- 
yard, is a neat oriel window. This room is fitted 
up with benches and a table, and here the arch- 
bishop's courts leet are held twice a year, for the 
manor of Cawood. The next story has a window 
of two trefoil-headed lights, under a square canopy. 
This room is now used as a pigeon cote. An octagonal 
turret crowns the north-west corner. A modern farm- 
house joins the tower on the left ; and on the right, is 
a long building of brick, formerly a chapel, now a 
barn, the south wall of which is flanked by six but- 
tresses, and pierced by as many narrow windows with 
sixfoil heads. 

A succession of green mounds, depressions, and 
hollows containing water, in the field to the east, point 
out the situation of the gardens and fishponds. The 
time-worn trunk of a gigantic chesnut tree, on the oppo- 
site side of the castle field, is said to have been planted 
by the hands of cardinal Wolsey ; it is the only living 
thing around, that saw the castle in its perfect state, 



70 CAWOOD CASTLE, 

and could it relate the scenes it has witnessed from its 
youth, until its now decaying old age, it would be far 
the best historian of the place. The chief buildings of 
the castle have extended northward to the river, where 
a portion of wall yet remains. The stone of the ruined 
edifice was carried hence by water to Bishopthorpe, 
and employed in enlarging the palace there, by arch- 
bishop Drummond, who held the see of York from 
1761 to 1776. In 1788, the vaults and foundations 
were dug up, and the site is now occupied as a farm- 
yard. How are the mighty fallen ! The palace of the 
proud Wolsey has become a dunghill. 

The situation of Cawood is low, close to the river 
Ouse, over which there is a ferry. The country, for a 
considerable distance around, is flat and woody. The 
town is small, tolerably well built with narrow streets, 
and used to have a weekly market on Wednesday. 
The church is a neat fabric, almost close to the river ; 
and the green yet retains its maypole. It is distant 
five miles from Selby and ten from York. 



71 



irkslall %hht^. 



KiRKSTALL Abbey is one of the most attractive and 
interesting objects of antiquity in the neighbourhood 
of Leeds ; from which it is three miles distant, and 
about half a mile from the village of Kirkstall. No 
ruin is better known, or has more exercised the skill 
of the antiquary and artist than this ; so that the 
subject may be said to be exhausted, and all said about 
it that can be said. 

Henry de Lacy, the great baron of Pontefract, was 
afflicted, some time previous to the year 1147, with a 
dangerous illness, which lasted for many days ; and 
while thus suffering, he felt such compunction for his 
past sins, that he made a vow, if spared, to erect an 
abbey for monks of the Cistercian order. Shortly after 
recovering, he called to him the abbot of Fountains ; 
told him the business on which he had required his 
attendance, and the vow he had made ; and, in order 
to carry it into effect, assigned and confirmed to the 
abbot, by charter, the village of Bernoldswick in 
Craven, with its appendages, for the erection of the 
proposed monastery. The abbot returned to Fountains 
with the oblation, and despatched some of the lay 
brothers to take possession of the place, and raise the 
necessary offices for the reception of a suitable colony 



72 KIRKSTALL ABBEY. 

of monks. Henry de Lacy met them himself, on their 
arrival ; and having, with a train of followers, peram- 
bulated in person the boundaries between Bernolds- 
wick and Pendle forest, delivered the former place into 
the hands of his religious friends. Henry Murdac, 
then archbishop of York, and who had himself been 
abbot of Fountains, likewise confirmed to them, by his 
pontifical authority, the whole grant, with its appurte- 
nances, and also the ancient church of Bernoldswick. 
The preparations for receiving the brethren were soon 
completed; and in June, 1147, Alexander, a prior of 
Fountains, with twelve monks and ten lay brothers, 
took up their residence at the new establishment, 
changing the name from Bernoldswick to Mount St. 
Mary. Quarrelling with the inhabitants of the district, 
whom they had unjustly treated ; and harassed by the 
Scots, who made incursions on their lands ; the abbot 
and his brethren soon found that Bernoldswick was not 
the place for them to grow fat and live at ease : so 
they resolved to find out a more agreeable' site, for a 
permanent establishment. While the abbot was thus 
meditating a change of residence, he had occasion to 
travel some distance on the business of the house ; and 
in prosecuting the journey, happened to pass through 
Airedale ; where he discovered a delicious retreat, 
surrounded by woods, and inhabited by a fraternity of 
poor and laborious hermits. The contrast between 
this situation and his own bleak and barren abode 
instantly struck him ; the possibility of taking these 
simple men out of the exclusive possession of the place, 



KIRKSTALL ABBEY. 73 

probably occurred to him at the same instant ; and he 
began with much address to enquire into their way of 
Hfe, their native country, their rule, and lastly, their 
title to the place. Alexander now repaired to his 
patron, Henry de Lacy, and laid before him the 
present state of their house, their poverty and distress; 
informing him of the desirable spot he had found at 
Kirkstall, and the great benefits the order would 
derive from their removal thither. The abbot's elo- 
quence was not exercised in vain ; and Henry de Lacy 
not only gave his consent to the removal, but also, by 
his interest, obtained from William Poictou, the owner 
of Kirkstall, his grant of the place and its appurte- 
nances, for the translation of the monastery. This 
being settled, the abbot found no great difficulty in 
getting rid of the hermits ; some of them he persuaded 
to become monks, and of the rest he purchased their 
habitations for a small sum of money. 

William of Poictoii accordingly granted and con- 
firmed by charter to the monks of Mount St. Mary, in 
perpetuity, at an annual rent of five marks, the whole 
of the chosen site ; with the use of the water, and of 
the adjacent wood, within certain boundaries. The 
river formed the southern limit of the place thus 
assigned, nor had the monks at first any possessions 
beyond it ; as the Aire divided the fee of William of 
Poictou on the north, from that of William de Rame- 
ville on the south. 

Alexander, having secured a commodious situation 
to which his colony could be translated, forthwith 



74 KIRKSTALL ABBEY. 

erected on the auspicious spot a temporary church ; 
and in the year 1153, the whole stock of monks and 
lay brothers left Bernoldswick, and settled in their new 
habitation. The former place, which had been occu- 
pied six years before the translation, was in conse- 
quence converted into a grange, for the use and supply 
of the monastery. 

Except wood and stone, the neighbourhood of Kirk- 
stall is said to have produced nothing useful to man ; 
but the smiling aspect of the valley, shaded and 
sheltered, as it still remains, with luxuriant groves of 
oak, indicated, to the intelligent eye of the abbot, a 
fruitful scene of lasting comfort. The first exertions of 
the monks were, therefore, devoted to clear an ade- 
quate space for future buildings, by cutting down a 
portion of the timber and underwood which encum- 
bered the ground. 

The favour and fervour of the founder, Henry de 
Lacy, meanwhile, remained unabated. He supplied 
the monks with corn and money, in proportion to their 
exigencies ; and not only assisted in providing them 
with suitable dwellings in their new abode, but laid the 
foundation of the church with his own hands, and 
completed at his exclusive expense, the whole of the 
sacred edifice, and of the appurtenant buildings. 

Besides some of the best estates attached to the 
institution having been acquired by Alexander, he 
finished the whole of the buildings at Kirkstall, all of 
which were roofed in the best manner with slates. He 
also planned, perhaps perfected, the buildings of the 



KIRKSTALL ABBEY. 75 

several granges belonging to the foundation ; and 
ordained all things, both external and internal, with 
profound wisdom. Having presided over the house 
during a period of thirty-five years, with equal pru- 
dence and success, full of years and honours he was 
gathered to the grave ; and with his patron, Henry de 
Lacy, who died about the same time, buried in the 
monastery, which the munificence of the one and the 
industry of the other had contributed to raise. 

During the disputes of the royal family in Henry 
II.^s time, Roger de Mowbray was one of the barons 
who espoused queen Eleanor's quarrel. In revenge 
for this defection, Henry siezed the grange of Mickle- 
thwaite, as a forfeiture of its rebellious lord, dispossess- 
ed the monks, and gave the property, together with 
the fee of Collingham and Bardsey, to Ada Brus, in 
exchange for the castle of Danby, of which Brus had 
been previously dispelled by the king. The abbot was 
not only blamed for the loss of this grange, but was 
charged with having robbed the house of some sacred 
vessels, in consequence of having given a golden 
chalice and a text of the gospels to bribe the king, and 
recover the grange This abbot's name was Ralph 
Hageth. 

During the rule of this abbot, the aff"airs of the 
monastery fell into disorder, and poverty and debt 
were the portion of the establishment. At length, the 
increasing difiiculties of the house, and the cunning of 
the monks, suggested their dispersion through neigh- 
bouring monasteries, as a means of immediate relief, 



76 KIRKSTALL ABBEY. 

and of working effectually upon the compassion of the 
king. The abbot adopted the advice of his brethren, 
and moderated the expenses in proportion to the 
revenues of the establishment. 

During the supremacy of Lambert, who succeeded 
Hageth, a certain knight called Richard de Eland 
claimed from the monastery the grange of Clivacher, as 
his property. On inquiry, the abbot discovered the claim 
to be well founded ; but still avoided its recognition, 
and secured compensation for the loss of the place, by 
resigning the grange into the hands of Robert de Lacy, 
from whom it had been shortly before received. The 
latter, in consequence, bestowed the village of Akaring- 
ton upon the monks, to make good his former gift. 
Lambert, following the habitual practice of his holy 
brethren, immediately on obtaining possession, banished 
the inhabitants from their ancient abodes and posses- 
sions, and converted the whole into a grange for the 
use of the monastery, under the superintendence of 
some of the lay brothers of the establishment. The 
pious historian of Kirkstall informs us, that "some 
wicked neighbouring inhabitants, whose predecessors 
had formerly been possessed of Akarington, by the 
instigation of the devil, burnt the grange, with all its 
furniture ; and cruelly murdered three lay brothers, 
Norman, Umfredus, and Robert, who managed the 
farm." The abbot, awed at this untoward event, 
recommended the souls of the deceased to God, and 
committed their bodies to the grave. He then re- 
paired to Robert de Lacy, his patron, and related to 



KIRKSTALL ABBEY. 77 

him the misfortune. The baron waxed wroth, on 
hearing of the great presumption eyinced by the 
people against their usurpers ; and not only banished 
the malefactors who were guilty of the firing and 
murder, but all their relations. These proceedings 
soon brought the unfortunate sufferers to their senses ; 
when they fell at the abbot's feet, and, by permission 
of De Lacy, " made satisfaction to God and the breth- 
ren for so enormous a sin ; they also swore to abjure 
the above grange for themselves and successors, resign- 
ing to God and the monks all right they had therein, 
and giving money over and above for the damage they 
had done ! " 

The establishment had for some time been sinking 
under a load of debt ; and, on the succession of Hugh 
Grimstone to the abbacy, in 1284, the following in- 
ventory of the liabilities of the house was taken : 

"Imprimis : draught oxen 16, cows 84, yearling 
and young bullocks 16, asses 21, sheep none. The 
debts which are certainly due, by recognizance made 
before the barons of the exchequer, £4402. 12s. 7d. 
Besides the writings, lying in the custody of James de 
Fistolis, of 500 marks ; besides one writing in the 
hands of the abbot of Fountains, of the abbot Henry, 
of 50 marks ; besides 59 sacks of wool, and nine 
marks, due to Bernard Talde ; and besides the acquit- 
tances in the hands of John Scalden, for 340 marks. 
In testimony whereof, we the brothers, and Henry, 
called abbot of Fountains, have affixed our seal to 
these presents." 



78 ' KIRKSTALL ABBEY. 

It thus appears, that the sum of all the debts at the 
above date was £5248. 15s. 7d., besides 59 sacks of 
wool. The exertions of abbot Grimston so far suc- 
ceeded in retrieving the affairs of the monastery, that, 
in the year 1301, the following return is given, of the 
state of the establishment : 

"Imprimis : draught oxen 216, cows 160, yearlings 
and bullocks 152, calves 90, sheep and lambs 4,000. 
The debts of the house £160. In the testimony 
hereof, Richard abbot of Fountains affixeth his seal.'' 

The house appears to have possessed the churches 
of Middleton in Pickering Lythe, Burstwick, Paul, 
Withernsea, Owthorne, Aldborough in Holderness, Gil- 
kirk, and Bracewell. 

John Ripley, alias Brown, was the last abbot. He 
was elected in the year 1509, and surrendered the 
abbey on the 22nd of November, 1540 ; upon which 
an annual pension was assigned him, of £66. 13s. 4d. 
The gross annual value was then £512. 13s. 4d., and 
the net £329. 2s. lid. Of the fate of the buildings 
the only facts known are, that the roof was taken off 
the church, the bells removed from the tower, and the 
other buildings deprived of the lead and timber em- 
ployed to render them habitable ; all of which were 
sold for the benefit of the crown. The site of the 
monastery, together with some of its circumjacent 
estates, was granted in the thirty-fourth of Henry VIII., 
and first and fourth of Edward VI., in exchange to 
archbishop Cranmer and his heirs ; and were by that 
prelate settled on a person named Peter Hammond, in 



KIRKSTALL ABBEY. 79 

trust for his grace's younger son. It is not supposed 
that the archbishop himself, in the midst of his arduous 
undertakings, ever visited this part of his acquisitions ; 
nor is it recorded how the whole soon afterwards 
passed out of his family. That this did happen, how- 
ever, is certain ; for, in the twenty-sixth Elizabeth, we 
find the property granted by her majesty to Edmund 
Downynge and Peter Ashton, and their heirs for ever. 
At a later period, but at what precise time neither Dr. 
Whitaker nor other writers on the subject have ascer- 
tained, the site and demesnes of Kirkstall, together 
with the adjoining manor of Bramley, were purchased 
by the Savilles of Howley ; and since then, they have 
passed by marriage, vv^ith the other estates of that 
family, through the duke of Montague, to the Brude- 
nels, earls of Cardigan, in whose immediate possession 
the ruins, and a part of the annexed grounds, yet 
continue. 

In the long interval between the dissolution and the 
present time, Kirkstall abbey has had the singular 
fortune to escape the covetous rapacity which seems to 
hover over every considerable building, almost before 
it is uninhabited, and never quits the carcase till 
dilapidation be complete. It had, indeed, been seized 
upon for purposes of prey, as early as queen Elizabeth's 
time ; for an entry in the churchwardens' books of 
Leeds, in 1583, mentions the employment of labourers 
at sixpence per day, in removing the materials of 
" Christall abbaye," to apply them to works then 
erecting in that town. 



80 * KIRKSTALL ABBF.Y. 

This ruin is situate in a beautiful recess of Airedale ; 
and the contrast presented between its sweet, spirit- 
soothing seclusion, and the gloom and bustle of Leeds, 
is most surprising and delightful. The view, suddenly 
opened, happily combines and displays the general 
charms of the landscape, hallowed by the remains of 
the abbey. From, the inn at Kirkstall bridge, the whole 
range before the eye presents a picture of rural beauty. 
At the distance of a small field, the Aire is seen gliding 
past the foot of the lawn on which the ruin stands, and 
afterwards flowing over a dam. The chancel end of 
the ancient church, surmounted by relics of its shat- 
tered tower, is visible ; as well as the remains of 
several buildings south of the cloisters, now hung with 
ivy, and canopied with elms and other trees, which 
have grown to maturity among its roofless walls. 
Beyond the abbey the ground naturally rises into a 
high and extensive screen of natural wood, which after 
spreading to the north and east, bends down to the 
river on the west, and then stretches for miles in that 
direction, to meet a ridge of wild hills in the distance. 
Up the dale, on the other side of the river, every fea- 
ture submissively harmonizes with the bolder scenery 
of the opposite bank ; the one seemingly designed for 
productiveness, the other to afford protecting shelter. 

These ruins occupy a considerable space ; the length 
from north to south measuring 340 feet, and from east 
to west 445 feet ; and a quadrangle of 115 feet by 143 
feet is enclosed within the walls. At a distance of 
about 300 feet north-west of the church, stands what 



KIRKSTALL ABBEY. 81 

was once the chief gateway of the monastery. The 
western front of the church is rich in ornament ; the 
doorway is highly embelHshed ; above which are two 
conjoined windows ; still higher, a single window once 
lighted the roof On the sides of the front are but- 
tresses, which, with the pediment, terminate in em- 
bellished turrets. The church is in the form of a cross ; 
the body is divided into a nave and two side aisles, by 
a double row of massy clustered columns, with square 
pedestals, the side of each pedestal measuring six feet. 
These columns support pointed arches, above which is 
a range of windows, with semicircular arches ; and as 
both these have evidently been built at the same 
time, they serve to strengthen the hypothesis, that 
the semicircular and pointed arches were for awhile 
striving for the victory, and that the former for 
some time kept their ground after the invention of 
the latter. An imprudent superstructure on the 
original tower (said by Dr. Burton to have been built 
in the time of Henry YII.,) which rose but little above 
the acute angled roof of the church, overweighted 
one of the four great columns at the intersection, 
which, after giving warning, for several years, of its 
approaching fall, was crushed by the vast super- 
incumbent pile on Wednesday night, Jan. 27th, 
1799, and brought down in its ruin more than two 
thirds of the tower. Considered merely as a ruin, 
the effect of the church was certainly improved by 
this catastrophe.* The roof between the tower and 

* Dr. Whitaker. 



82 KIRKSTALL ABBEY. 

east end, where the high altar stood, was adorned with 
fretwork and arches. There is not the least trace of a 
monument within this church, neither is it loaded 
with that profusion of trifling ornament so common in 
some buildings, but is justly admired for its elegant 
simplicity. It is obseryable that it does not point due 
east and west. The west end is in fine preservation, 
and the very grand mass of ivy which covers the north 
side of it, rising from the ground to the summit of the 
lantern, is uncommonly beautiful. The east window 
is pointed, but its beauty is much injured by inju- 
dicious repairs. Here is, as usual, a story of a subter- 
raneous passage, entering at the south-east corner of 
the ruins. The cloister court, which self-interest pre- 
serves from intrusion as an orchard, was the cemetery, 
not only of the society, but of the wealthy laity of 
the neighbourhood ; where two yards of consecrated 
ground were often purchased by as many oxgangs of 
productive land. Here a few fragments of crosses 
and gravestones remain ; but there is only one rem- 
nant of an inscription, on which little more is legible 
than the word ^^itlltir. The lavatory, near the 
south-east corner, has been richly adorned : westward 
from this was the refectory, a groined and not very 
spacious apartment. The great kitchen, together with 
a suit of apartments extending eastward from the 
south-east corner of the quadrangle, towards the foun- 
dations of the abbot's lodgings, is of much later 
date than the rest. The chapter-house is an oblong, 
divided into two portions by double arches. That 



KIRKSTALL ABBEY. 83 

portion contiguous to the cloisters, has the remnant of 
a cluster of columns in the centre, supporting two 
divisions of groins ; and so strongly is the masonry 
united, that notwithstanding all the columns are gone, 
except the centre one, the capitals belonging to them, 
and the springing of the groins, yet retain their 
positions, to the astonishment of all beholders. The 
second portion eastward is without a centre cluster 
of columns, the groins springing from angle to angle. 
The windows are large, and around are seats intended 
for the religious when seated in council. 

In 1825, the person entrusted with the care of the 
ruin, in cleaning out one of the arched passages near 
the chapter-house, met with a number of small square 
tiles, of different colours, glazed, and figured on one 
side. They were firmly cemented together, and form- 
ed apparently a seat, or perhaps the bottom of a 
cistern, about two feet above the level of the floor. 

About 1826, the foundation story of the corn mill 
used by the monks, was partially dug out of the earth 
and rubbish which had covered it. Here the chiselled 
blocks of stone, forming the passage for the water 
and the placing of the wheel, were found as they 
had been laid down seven centuries before. The goit 
through which the water had been conducted to this 
mill, commenced at Horsforth, and still turns a wheel 
for part of the iron works at Kirkstall forge, where it 
now returns to the Aire. 

On the 13th of April, 1826, some boys, while 
amusing themselves in the chapter house, detected an 



84 KIRKSTALL ABBEY. 

opening near one of the stones inserted in its walls, 
and, with the success usually attendant on such mis- 
chievous undertakings, removed the outer slab ; there 
then appeared some of the bones, including part of the 
skull and jaws of the body, which had been deposited 
in this rude, but imperishable species of coffin, 
together with a quantity of dust, the remains of what 
had once been quick with life. No inscription was 
discernible upon any part of the flags forming this 
mortal receptacle ; but it is probable that the person 
buried in this distinguished manner, was either one 
of the most noted of the abbots, or perhaps of the 
patrons and benefactors of the monastery. The tenant 
of the tomb must have been of a good old age, for 
though the teeth in the under jaw were mostly sound, 
they were considerably worn. 

" It is to the neglect of two centuries and a half, 
the unregarded growth of iv}^, and the maturity of 
vast elms and other forest trees which have been 
suffered to spring up among the walls, that Kirkstall 
is become, as a single object, the most picturesque and 
beautiful ruin in the kingdom. Add to all this the 
mellowing hand of time, which by rounding angles, 
breaking lines, and softening down the glare of recent 
colouring, may be regarded as the first of all landscape 
painters.""'^ 

After having appropriated to our own use the 
labours of Whitaker, Wood, and other writers on 
Kirkstall, we cannot resist the temptation of filching 

* Whitakee. 



KIRKSTALL ABBEY. 85 

a choice morsel from Professor Phillips as a con- 
clusion. 

" Since the day when Henry de Lacy brought the 
Cistercians to this sweet retreat, how changed are the 
scenes which the river looks upon ! Then, from the 
high rocks of Malham and the pastures of Craven, to 
Loidis in Elmete, the deer, wild boar, and white bull, 
were wandering in unfrequented woods, or wading in 
untainted waters, or roaming over boundless heaths. 
Now, hundreds of thousands of men of many races, 
have extirpated the wood, dyed the waters with tints 
derived from other lands, turned the heaths into fertile 
fields, and filled the valley with mills and looms, water- 
wheels and engine chimneys ! Yet, is not all the 
beauty of Airedale lost ; nor should the thoughtful 
mind which now regards the busy stream of the Aire 
lament the change. The quiet spinner is happier than 
the rude and violent hunter ; the spirit of true religion 
fills these populous villages, as well as once it filled 
these cloistered walls ; the woods are gone, and in 
their place the iron road ; but the road conducts the 
intelligent lover of beauty to other hills and dales, 
where art has had no contest with nature, and, by 
enabling him to compare one region with another, 
corrects his judgment, heightens his enjoyment, and 
deepens his sympathy with man.''''^ 

* Rivers, Mountains, and Sea Coast of Yorkshire, p. 94. 



86 



A MORE interesting spot can hardly be found in 
Yorkshire than Harewood. Dr. Whitaker styles it " a 
fortunate place, blessed with much natural beauty and 
fertility, possessed of one of the most beautiful villages 
in the county, a nearly entire, though dismantled 
castle, a modern palace surrounded by a wide extent 
of pleasure grounds and plantations, and a parish 
church filled with unmutilated sculptures of the four- 
teenth and fifteenth centuries/^ 

Though the castle be the only object which falls 
immediately within the plan of this work, we shall not 
leaye this place without noticing its other, and per- 
haps more attractive features. 

At the time of the Domesday, survey, Harewood was 
part of the king's demesne, and Tor, Sprot, and Grim, 
were here possessed of ten carucates of land to be 
taxed, five of which were arable ; it was then valued 
at forty shillings. 

Afterwards, Harewood, with the honor of Skipton, 
and other great estates in Yorkshire, came by the 
Conqueror's gift into the possession of Robert de 
Romilie ; whose only daughter, Cecily, married William 
de Meschines, earl of Chester, who became lord of this 
manor. Cecily had by her husband two sons, who 



HARE WOOD CASTLE. 87 

died without issue ; and two daughters, co-heiresses. 
Alice, who had the honor of Skipton, married Fitz 
Duncan, earl of Murray, in Scotland, nephew of 
Malcom, king of that kingdom. Avice married William 
de Curci, steward of the household of Henry I.; she 
had for her moiety the manor of Harewood, and other 
considerable estates. To Avice de Romilie succeeded 
William Curci, her son ; whose only daughter, Alice, 
married Warine Fitzgerald, of Stoke Curry, in Somer- 
setshire, chamberlain of king John, and lord, in right 
of his wife, of this manor ; he obtained from king John 
a charter for a fair and weekly market at this place. 
His only daughter, Margery, married first Baldwin de 
Redvers, eldest son of William de Eedvers, earl of 
Devonshire, who died in his father's lifetime ; and 
secondly, Fulk de Brent, who having resided in the 
Isle of Wight, where the family had great possessions, 
was denominated De Insula, or Lisle ; and was ancestor 
of lord Lisle, of Rugemont. This lady, while residing 
at Harewood, granted to the nuns of Arthington the 
tithe of her household expenses here. 

To Margery de Redvers succeeded Baldwin, earl of 
Devonshire, her son ; during his minority, the king 
committed the manor of Harewood to Walter de Gray, 
archbishop of York. Baldwin had issue, a daughter, 
Isabel, who married William de Fortibus, earl of 
Albemarle. WiUiam, earl of Albemarle, rebelled 
against Henry IL, and manned his castles ; but being 
overpowered, was forced to submit. He had only one 
daughter, married to Edward Crouchback, earl of 



88 HAREWOOD CASTLE. 

Lancaster, son of king Henry III., who died without 
issue, in 1296. Upon the death of this lady, many of 
their estates were seized by the crown, particularly the 
Isle of Wight, and the honors of Holderness and 
Skipton ; but Harewood descended to her relation, 
lord Lisle, of Rugemont. 

Robert, lord Lisle, was succeeded by John, his son, 
who in 1336, that he might be the better enabled to 
serve the king in his wars, obtained from his father a 
grant of the manor of Harewood, then valued at 400 
marks per annum, to be held during his life. He died 
in the year 1356, being succeeded by his son and heir, 
Robert, lord Lisle, whose only daughter, Elizabeth, 
married Sir William Aldburgh, of Aldburgh, in 
Richmondshire ; who having obtained this manor, 
seems to have made it his chief residence ; and though 
there was a castle here prior to the reign of king 
John, yet, by the arms of the Aldburghs, cut in stone 
over the principal entrance, and in several parts of the 
chapel, we may infer that Sir William de Aldburgh 
erected the principal part of the castle as it now 
stands, in the reign of Edward HI. He had two 
daughters, co-heiresses ; EKzabeth married first to 
Sir Brian Stapleton, of Carlton, and secondly to Sir 
Richard Redman, of Redman and Levens, in Westmor- 
land ; and Sybil, to Sir William Ryther, of Ryther ; 
between whom all his estates were divided. These 
estates thus descending to co-heiresses, each family 
held them in undivided moities ; but the Redmans 
seem to have made the castle their principal residence, 



HAREWOOD CASTLE. 89 

till the reign of queen Elizabeth, in the 21st year of 
whose reign, both these families disposed of their 
property in this place. 

The Gascoignes of Gawthorpe appear to have been 
the next owners of Hare wood. William Gascoigne, 
knight, obtained a license to enclose two parks here ; 
the first to contain 240 acres of land in Gawthorpe, 
Wardley, and Hare wood ; the second to contain 1700 
acres, in Henhouse, Lofthouse, Wardley, Harewood, 
^.--niid Wyke. 

William Gascoigne, Esq., the last of this line, had an 
only daughter, Margaret, who married Thomas Went- 
worth, of Wentworth Woodhouse, Esq., whose son, 
William, father of Thomas, earl of Strafford, was 
seized of this and several other manors in the vicinity. 
The unfortunate earl resided at Gawthorpe during the 
gathering of that storm which at length proved so fatal 
to him, as appears by many of his letters dated from 
thence. His son, William, second earl of Strafford, sold 
the estate during Cromwell's protectorate ; and also 
that at Ledstone. Sir John Cutler was afterwards 
owner of Harewood, a man of very penurious habits, 
who resided at Gawthorpe Hall, having reduced the 
ancient castle of Harewood to ruin, for the sake of 
the timber. Pope has immortalized him in the follow- 
ing lines ; — 

" Cutler saw tenants break and houses fall ; 
For very want he could not build a wall. 
His only daughter in a stranger's power ; 
For very want ho could not pay a dower. 



90 HAREWOOD CASTLE. 

A few grey hairs his reverend temples crow'd ; 
'Twas very want that sold tliem for two pound I 
What ! e'en denied a cordial at his end, 
Banish'd the doctor, and expell'd the friend ? 
What, hut a want — which you perhaps think mad, 
Yet numbers feel — ^the want of what he had ! " 

He left, his estates to his only daughter, Elizabeth, 
countess of Radnor ; with remainder, in case of failure 
of issue, to his relation, John Boulter, Esq., who, on 
his death, in 1696, accordingly inherited it ; and from 
the heirs of this gentleman, it was purchased by Henry 
Lascelles, Esq., about the year 1721. This gentleman 
died in 1753, and was succeeded by Edwin, his eldest 
son, who, in 1790, was created baron Harewood, of 
Harewood. His lordship died in 1795, when his 
cousin Edward succeeded to the estates, and was 
created baron Harewood, June 18th, 1796, and was 
advanced to the dignity of earl of Harewood and 
viscount Lascelles, August 15th, 1812. He survived 
his eldest son, Edward, six years ; and at his death, on 
the 4th of June, 1814, was succeeded by his second 
son, Henry, the second, and late earl ; whose death 
took place in December, 1841, very suddenly, when in 
the fields, following his favourite exercise, the chase. 
He was succeeded in his estates and titles by his eldest 
son, the present earl. 

On the declivity of the hill, on the southern side of 
the vale of Wharfe, stands the castle of Harewood, 
founded soon after the conquest ; and rebuilt, as 
already mentioned, by Sir William Aldburgh, in the 
reign of Edward III. 



HARE WOOD CASTLE. 91 

It may be styled a large square tower, or rather 
series of towers, without baily, moat, or other out- 
works ; trusting for defence entirely to the height and 
thickness of its walls. The ground on which it stands 
slopes rapidly down to the north ; and the rooms in 
the interior are accommodated to the nature of the 
ground. The walls are yet nearly of their original 
height, of fine freestone, and of good masonry. It is 
of a parallelogramic form, the north and south fronts 
being 64 and 67 feet respectively in length, and the 
east and west fronts 111 and 123 feet. The walls are 
about seven feet in thickness. The north face is plain, 
without any projecting towers, three stories in height, 
the two lower being lighted only by narrow loopholes, 
and the uppermost by large square windows, which 
have been each divided by a mullion and a transom, 
and into which no missiles then used in war could be 
thrown, to do much damage. In a projecting square 
tower, on the eastern side, is the grand entrance, high 
enough to admit a man on horseback. The groove for 
the portcullis is yet to be seen in the wall. On the 
outside of this tower, above a square headed window, 
which has lighted- the private chapel, upon a stone 
label, flanked by the rampant lion on the shield of 
Aldburgh, on the one side, and the orle on that of 
Baliol, on the other, is the predestinarian motto of the 
founder, in bold, black letters, — 

The arms of Baliol appearing here are supposed to 



92 ' HAREWOOD CASTLE. 

be a compliment paid to him by Aldburgh, who enter- 
tained him here, when driven from the throne of 
Scotland, in the reign of Edward III. A small apart- 
ment over the space between the outer and inner 
doorway of this tower, has been the domestic oratory, 
and is richly adorned with shields of arms, twelve 
being yet visible to those who take sufficient pains to 
look for them ; they have been ascribed to the families 
of Sutton, Aldburgh, Baliol, Thweng, Bordesly or 
Grauncester, Constable, Ross, and Vipont. Close to 
this tower, on the north, a winding staircase, yet nearly 
complete, ascends to the top of the castle. The western 
front is somewhat different from the eastern, having 
an entrance, but not through a tower, into the great 
hall. The southern front is far the highest part of the 
building, partly from its situation on the highest 
ground, and partly from the lofty watch towers at its 
corners. These towers project about half their breadth 
from the main wall, and are now clad to the very 
summit in a thick mass of ivy. Entering on the 
western side, we are at once in the great hall ; turning 
to the right, we enter the basement story of the south- 
western tower, which is but of small dimensions, being 
about 11 feet by nine ; there appears to have been 
four floors above this story, forming as many small 
rooms, each of which has had a fire-place, the top 
being finished with a watch tower. In the hall, 
between this tower and a similar one at the south- 
eastern corner,^4s a large fire-place, nine feet wide, 
which has been much used. A circular staircase, of 



HAREWOOD CASTLE. 93 

large dimensions, has ascended from the hall, at the 
south-eastern corner to the state apartments above. 
The windows into the hall are mere loophole lights, 
which must have made it very dark ; but the most 
singular circumstance about this room, is a recess, near 
the upper end of the west wall, which has almost every 
appearance of a tomb contemporary with the building ;* 
and a tomb it has been repeatedly affirmed to be. But 
of whom ? Of the founder, assuredly, if it were a 
tomb at all. Yet Sir William de Aldburgh is known 
to have been interred in the parish church. Besides, 
whoever dreamed in those days of being buried in 
unconsecrated earth '? Or what heir would have per- 
mitted so incongruous a circumstance in a scene of 
conviviality 1 Besides, the original slab has been 
removed, and, instead of a stone coffin, nothing ap- 
peared but a mass of solid grout work ; while, instead 
of kneeling figures of priests, or children, beneath 
appears, on a sort of friese, a light and elegant enrich- 
ment of vine leaves and grapes. From this last 
circumstance, combined with its situation near the 
head of the high table, it is most probable that it was 
nothing more than an ancient sideboard. This open- 
ing, for whatever purpose it may have been, is fi.YG 
feet six inches in length, and three feet five inches in 
depth ; the arch above is circular, ornamented on the 
face, with florid decorations ; a pointed crochetted 
canopy, surmounted by a finial, rises above ; the whole 
being finished with a square canopy. 

* Whitaker. 



94 HAREWOOD CASTLE. 

Besides the hall and towers already mentioned, 
there are other two divisions on the north, separated 
from each other by strong party walls. The lower 
rooms of these have been occupied by offices, kitchen, 
and bakehouse, as may be seen by the much used 
fire-place and oven yet remaining. There is no dun- 
geon, unless a part of the most northern division may 
have been such ; it has apparently been arched, and 
the descent into it from a small square tower on the 
western side is by fifteen steps. 

This castle does not appear to have been dismantled 
by violence, or ever to have been exposed to hostile 
force ; few of its parts, except the battlements, have 
been thrown down ; and from the stability of its walls 
it is calculated to ornament this lovely valley for ages 
yet to come. Few sights can be more beautiful than 
a view ot one of the glorious sunsets of the valley of 
the Wharfe, from the top of this ruined monument of 
feudal greatness ; the richly wooded scenery on both 
sides of the fertile valley below ; the long and silvery 
reaches of the river glitter in the levelled sunbeams ; 
the beautifully varied hills to the westward, and the 
combined beauties of nature and art, produce a picture 
which once seen will not be readily forgotten. Among 
the more conspicuous objects included in the view, 
may be mentioned the village of Kirkby Overblow, 
crowning the hill directly to the north ; further west, 
rising abruptly above the village of Eegton, is seen the 
rugged gritstone mass of Almes Cliff, Rifia Wood, 
Weeton, and the magnificent viaduct of the Leeds 



HAREWOOD CASTLE. 95 

Northern Railway, spanning the valley of the Wharfe. 
Beyond, are the woods of Lindley ; Farnley Hall, long 
the seat of the family of Fawkes ; the town of Otley, 
nestled beneath the wood-crested ridge of Chevin ; 
Weston, the home of the Vavasours ; and Denton, 
ennobled by the name of Fairfax ; Ilkley, with its 
famous health-restoring springs, the site of the Roman 
Olicana, backed by the dark form of Rumbles Moor; 
while the distant hills of Craven close the prospect in 
that direction. 

The village of Harewood is certainly one of the 
most handsome in the county ; the houses are uniformly 
built of stone, and form two streets, one running north 
and south, the other east and west ; the last forms a 
regular approach to the gateway leading to Harewood 
House. The cottages have more the appearance of 
gentlemen's houses than the homes of labouring men ; 
they are placed back from the street, with gardens 
fenced with iron palisades in front. 

Half a mile from the village is the church, an 
ancient and venerable pile, surrounded by a thick 
grove of trees, whose close embowering shade gives a 
pleasing addition to the solemnity of the place. The 
west end is beautifully mantled with ivy. 

This church was founded by William de Curci, in 
the reign of Henry I., and finished about the year 
1116. It belonged to the patronage of the lords of 
the manor, till the 14th March, 1353, when John de 
Insula, lord of Rugemont, knight, obtained the apostolic 
letters, whereb}^ he got it appropriated to the prior 



96 HAREWOOD CASTLE. 

and convent of Bolton in Craven, to which monastery he 
granted the right of patronage thereof, in regard to his 
ancestors, to which house they had been benefactors * 

In the number and perfect preservation of the tombs 
of its lords, this church probably surpasses every parish 
church in the county ; and as virtue and honest 
patriotism are almost on all occasions held up to us as 
models deserving our imitation, this place has been 
pointed out by all historians as most sacred, for it 
contains the relics of the virtuous judge. Sir William 
Gascoigne, of Gawthorpe, who was, while trying one of 
the prince of "Wales' favourites, insulted upon the bench 
by the prince himself, afterwards king Henry V. The 
judge resolutely committed him, declaring he would 
have the laws respected. This upright judge discovered 
equally his resolution and integrity, in refusing to try 
archbishop Scrope, for high treason, an office which 
another judge, who was not so scrupulous, assumed, 
and pursued to a fatal point for that prelate. 

Among the monuments in this church, the following 
deserve particular notice : — 

The first consists of an altar tomb, with the ex- 
tended effigies of Sir William Gascoigne and his wife, 
Elizabeth, daughter, and co-heiress of Sir William 
Mowbray, of Kirklington. On a brass filleting about 
this tomb was the following inscription, said to have 
been torn away in the civil wars. 

fit jaat Will-nm^ iastmgite m^ : €^l |«stit, k 
§an0 J^iiria mi^. regis Jingliae part d (tlr^M^ \mx t^u, 

* Burton's Monasticon Eboraceiise. 



HAREWOOD CASTLE. 97 

Dfii ptkm liJIl-imts sM bit gmirimra f f Mt gmnttera 
Jiniw gm. il«€€<J|||— 111. Irariri |f ' Mw jttte 



Between the cliancel and north aisle is another 
tomb, which probably covers Sir Richard- Redman, and 
Elizabeth, his wife, daughter and co-heiress of Sir 
William Aldbm^gh, of Harewood castle. That the 
knight is a Redman, is proved by the crest, a horse's 
head on his helmet. 

Opposite to this tomb, from the style contemporary 
with the former, and most probably intended for Sir 
William Ryther, of Ryther, knt., and Sybil, his wife, 
the other daughter and co-heiress of Sir William 
Aldburgh. From the circumstance of their interment 
here,- it should seem as if both these co-heiresses and 
their families resided by turns at Harewood castle. 

Of the next tomb. Glover, who made his heraldic 
visitation with great care and curiosity, in 1585, gives 
the following account : " In Harewood church, north 
aisle, belonging to Harewood castle, an altar tomb : — 
effigies of a knight and lady cumbent, his head on 
helmet ; and crest, a horse's head, which denotes it to 
have been a Redman : feet on lion, on which sits a 
monk wdth beads, against which sole of the right foot 
rests." Most probably Sir Richard Redman, grandson 
of the former, and Elizabeth, his wife, daughter of Sir 
William Gascoigne, of Gawthorpe. 

Another tomb, at the feet of chief justice Gascoigne, 
in the south aisle, by the arms and crest, — gules, a 
saltire argent, and a bull's head, — evidentlj^ meant for 

H 



98 HAREWOOD CASTLE. 

a Neville, most probably Sir John Neville, of Womers- 
ley, who died in the 22nd of Edward IV., or 1482, 
whose daughter and heiress, Joan, married Sir William 
Gascoigne. 

The last is more uncertain than any of the rest. It 
is by some supposed to commemorate a Frank of 
Alwoodley, and by others a Thwaites. 

All these have recumbent statues nearly entire, and 
in the most beautiful preservation. 

At a short distance from the church is Harewood 
House, the princely mansion of the earls of Harewood, 
and one of the chief ornaments of this part of York- 
shire. It is situate on the top of a hill, fronting the south, 
and commands a rich home view over fields and woods. 
The park around it consists of 1800 acres, exhibiting 
rich varieties of hill and valley, plain, and woodland. 
The foundation-stone was laid on the 23rd of March, 
1759, by the first earl of Harewood. Mr. Adams, of 
London, and Mr. Carr, of York, were the architects. 
The whole length of the building is 248 feet, and the 
width 84 feet ; it consists of a centre and two wings, 
displaying all the richness of Corinthian architecture. 
Many of the ceilings are richly ornamented with 
beautiful designs of Zucci, and others. The rooms are 
furnished in the most costly and elegant manner, 
especially the state apartments ; the great drawing 
room, and gallery, present such magnificence and art 
as eye hath scarcely seen, and words cannot easily 
describe. Through every part of this stately mansion 
elegance and usefulness are combined. The gardens 



HAREWOOD CASTLE. 99 

and pleasure-grounds combine at once elegance and 
utility, and abound with every convenience for pro- 
ducing the finest fruits and flowers. The various 
shrubs flourish luxuriantly, and are judiciously inter- 
mixed. 

This mansion and the pleasure-grounds are open for 
the inspection of the public on Saturdays. 



100 



pnffiart^ Castle. 



The ruins of Spofforth castle are situate at a dis- 
tance of three miles from Wetherbj, and about four 
from tlie towns of Knaresborough and Harrogate, and 
close to the line of the Harrogate and Church Fenton 
railway. 

Before the Conquest, as we learn from Domesday 
book, the manor of Spofforth, or Spawford, was held 
by Gamelbar ; at the time of that survey, it was held 
by William de Percy, who had here four carucates of 
land, nine villanes, and ten bordars. Here was then a 
mill, four acres of meadow, and a wood, one mile 
square : the whole manor was then two miles in length, 
by one and a half in breadth. 

Here the illustrious family of Percy had a seat, 
before Alnwick or Warkworth came into their posses- 
sion. 

In 1224, William de Percy obtained a grant for a 
market on Fridays to be held in the town of Spofforth. 

In the year 1809, Henry de Percy procured a 
licence to fortify his castle here. 

Henry de Percy, first earl of Northumberland, 
headed an insurrection against king Henry IV., and 
was slain at the battle of Bramham Moor, in the year 
1407, when his estates became forfeited to the crown, 



SPOFFORTH CASTLE. 101 

and the manor of SpofForth was conferred for life on 
the brave Sir Thomas Rokeby, then sheriff of York- 
shire, who had been mainly instrumental in defeating 
the earFs forces, and quelling the rebellion. The 
manor, however, soon came again into the possession 
of the Percy family. 

After the battle of Towton Field, 1462, so fatal to 
the red rose faction, in which, amongst a great many 
others, were slain the earl of Northumberland and Sir 
Richard Percy, his brother, their estates were laid 
waste, and mansions devastated, by the enraged 
conquerors. 

Leland observes that " the manor house at Spofford 
was sore defacid, in the time of the civile warrs be- 
tween Henry the sixth and Edward the fourth, by the 
earl of Warwick and the Marquis of Montacute." 

After having lain in ruins for some time, we find, 
this house was again made tenable ; for, in the year 
1559, Henry, lord Percy, obtained a licence to fortify 
his houses at Spofford and Leckenfield. 

About the year 1600, Sir Sampson Ingilby, steward 
to the earl of Northumberland, resided here. The 
probability is, that, the building was dismantled and 
partly demolished, during the great civil war between 
Charles I. and the parliament. 

The ruin, with a great part of the adjoining village, is 
now the property of the honourable George Wyndham. 

Though generally called a castle, the building, 
strictly speaking, has never been more than a manor 
house ; it has never had any moat, outworks, or other 



102 SPOFFORTH CASTLE. 

defences ; and from its situation, has not been capable 
of offering a serious defence, to any attacking party 
properly supplied. It stands on the south-west of 
the village, on the edge of a slight eminence, sloping to 
the west, near the side of a small rivulet ; the highest 
of its walls are overtopped by the railway embankment, 
the foot of which is within twenty yards of the base of 
the castle. It is more properly the remains of an 
ancient English mansion, more adapted for exercising 
the rites of hospitality, than a stern war fortress, in- 
tended for permanent defence ; yet not quite forgetting 
the latter, as its narrow loophole windows and thick 
walls plainly testify. 

The present remains may be referred to the 
Edwardian era, when the embattled fortress of the 
feudal baron began to assume the form of the palatial 
mansion, and may be supposed to be the work of 
Henry de Percy, who obtained a licence to rebuild or 
fortify it, about the year 1309. 

The form is that of a parallelogram, with a square 
projection at the northern end, and an octagonal turret 
at the north-west corner. The lower story of the 
projecting building on the north, is a gloomy, dungeon- 
like room, with a vaulted roof, yet complete ; and is 
about twenty-four feet in length by nine feet six inches 
wide, and about nine feet high to the springing of the 
arch ; the entrance into it has been through a small 
aperture on the south, about four feet square ; at the 
north-east corner is an opening, which may have been a 
fire-place, or a flight of steps from the room above ; 



SPOFFORTH CASTLE. lOB 

the windows have been loopholes, six inches wide, and 
three feet high. 

The north front is about twenty-three yards in 
length, and nearly of the original height, divided into 
two stories by a projecting moulding. 

The windows in the lower story are mere loopholes ; 
those in the upper are but two, resembling those of 
churches of the same period, and have each been 
divided by a mullion into two lights ; the arches are 
slightly pointed, deeply recessed, and moulded, in 
excellent preservation, being composed of a fine, white 
stone, resembling marble. The other parts of the 
building are of the coarse millstone grit of the neigh- 
bourhood, in some places much worn by exposure to 
the weather. At the north-west corner is an octagonal 
tower, within which is a winding staircase, leading to 
the top ; the entrance is now walled up : the roof 
terminates in a spire, finished with a knob, or blunt, 
compressed finial. The west front is forty-nine yards in 
length, flanked by six buttresses, and like the north, 
divided into two stories by a moulding course ; there 
are as many windows as buttresses, both in the upper 
and lower stories — those in the lower are merely holes in 
the wall; the two most northerly windows in the upper 
tier have been of two hghts each, the moulding and 
tracery of fine white stone ; a sweeping cornice above 
them terminates at each end in a delicately carved bunch 
of foilage ; the mouldings at the springing of the arches 
are also adorned with foilage : the head of one of them 
has a nearly circular arch, the other is acutely pointed, 



104 SPOFFORTH CASTLE. 

and the tracery, forming a cinquefoil in the sweep of 
the arch, yet remains. The other four windows in the 
west front, which have hghted the gTeat hall, are of 
greater height than the two already mentioned, of two 
lights each, with circular heads ; but the mouldings are 
of coarser materials, and of inferior workmanship, 
especially on the outside. The southern end has only 
one small window remaining, with mouldings of fine 
white stone. The thickness of the wall is about five 
feet. The great hall has been a spacious room, with two 
entrances on the east, and two windows similar to those 
on the western side. It is twenty-six yards in length, 
by about fifteen in breadth. The edge of rock on which 
the castle stands terminates abruptly in the middle of 
this apartment, so that one half of the floor has been 
on the ground, and the other half has had a store- 
room, or some other ofiice beneath it. At the north- 
west corner of this low^er apartment has been a fire- 
place, the flue, which has been much used, yet remains 
in the wall. Besides the hall, there are two other 
divisions to the north, divided by strong party walls, 
which we may appropriate as the kitchen and domestic 
ofiices. A small building, of modern erection, on the 
eastern side, is now used as a school. The fabric when 
complete, has never been intended for the reception of a 
large retinue, or the accommodation of a large house- 
hold, such as the " peerless Percies" generally possessed. 
A succession of green mounds and depressions in the 
castle yard bear evidence that other buildings have at 
some time existed, besides the remaining fragment. 



105 



l^nartsBnrou:^;^ Castle. 

Knaresborough Castle, once the ornament and 
security of the town, and of which the inconsiderable 
remains recall to remembrance the events of its history, 
was founded by Serlo de Burgh, baron of Tonsburgh, 
in Normandy, who, with his brother John, (surnamed 
Monoculus,) accompanied the conqueror to England, 
and received this, with several other lordships, as a 
reward for his services. John Monoculus succeeded 
his brother Serlo, as lord of Knaresborough. His eldest 
son, Eustace Fitz John, succeeded his father, and in- 
habited the castle in 1133. It was he who generously 
relieved the monks of Fountains abbey, when in great 
distress from hunger, by sending them a cart load of 
bread. Eustace Fitz John married Beatrix, the daugh- 
ter of Ivo de Vescy, a Norman, by whom he had one 
son, William, who w^as cut out of his mother^s womb ; 
she died, and from- her as an heiress, the said William 
took the name of Yescy, which descended to his pos- 
terity. Eustace Fitz John espoused the cause of the 
empress Maud, and appeared in arms against king 
Stephen ; but the enterprise not succeeding, he retired 
into Scotland, and was present at the battle of the 
Standard in 1138 ; after which he lived to see Henry 
11. ascend the throne, and fell in his cause fighting 



106 KNARESBOROUGH CASTLE. 

against the Welsh, in the year 1156. On the retreat 
of Eustace Fitz John into Scotland, the king gave the 
lordship of Knaresborough to Robert de Estoteville. 
This nobleman was also present at the battle of the 
Standard ; and his son Robert was one of the five 
English gentlemen, who with only four hundred 
cavalry, surprised and took William king of Scotland 
prisoner, near Alnwick, in the year 1174, within sight 
of his own camp. 

Heloise Estoteville married Hugh de Morville, one 
of the four knights who, in 11 71, slew Thomas-a-Becket. 
He, in right of his wife, held this castle ; and to it, 
with his assistants in that action. Sir Thomas Briton, 
Sir WiUiam Tracy, and Sir Reginald Fitz Urse retired, 
and remained shut up therein for a whole year ; but 
finally submitted to the authority of the church ; they 
were pardoned on condition of performing a pilgrimage 
to the holy sepulchre at Jerusalem, where they died, 
and were buried at the door of the church belonging to 
the Templars. Their common tomb bore the following 
inscription : 

fit jrart mlmi pi martpj atemt Mkm 

In the reign of Henry III., this manor and castle 
were granted to Hubert de Burgh, earl of Kent, and 
Margaret, his wife, and to their heirs in fee and inherit- 
ance ; rendering for the same, to the king and his 
heirs, yearly, at his exchequer, one hundred pounds 
for all services and demands. The son of Hubert, 
joining the standard of Simon .de Mountfort, at the 



KNARESBOROUGH CASTLE. 107 

battle of Evesham, August 5th, 1265, this manor again 
escheated to the crown, and was granted by the same 
monarch, in the year 1267, to his brother Richard, earl 
of Cornwall, who, about this time, founded a priory 
here. Eichard dying, left his estates to his son 
Edmund, earl of Cornwall, who died without issue in 
1300, when the earldom of Cornwall and the honor 
of Knaresborough reverted to the crown. Edward II. 
having created his favourite. Piers Gaveston, earl of 
Cornwall, granted to him all the manors which had be- 
longed to Edmund ; amongst which, was that of 
Knaresborough. While that monarch was at York, 
expecting an hostile visit from the Scots, he gave orders 
that the castle of Knaresborough should be furnished 
with a large quantity of military stores. In the year 
1319, the Scots made a dreadful irruption into England; 
and, after levying heavy contributions on Northallerton 
and Ripon, they burned the tovms of Skipton and 
Knaresborough. 

In 1318, the castle was taken by John de Lilbourne, 
an officer belonging to Thomas, earl of Lancaster, who, 
when obliged to surrender it, destroyed all the records 
and memorials of the liberties, customs, and privileges 
of the place. 

On Gavestone's death, the manor of Knaresborough 
came again into the possession of the crown, where it 
remained until the 44th of Edward III., 1369, when 
it was granted, with divers other lands, to John of 
Gaunt, duke of Lancaster ; and ever since it has per- 
tained to that duchy. 



108 KNARESBOROUGH CASTLE. 

It is probable, from the style of architecture of the 
existing remains, that a great part of the castle was 
rebuilt about this time. 

Sir Thomas Chaucer, son of the celebrated poet, was 
constable of the castle on the nomination of John of 
Gaunt. 

During Wat Tyler's insurrection, Constance of Cas- 
tile, wife of John of Gaunt, attempted to obtain shelter 
at Pontefract, but her own servants durst not permit 
her to enter that castle, so that she was constrained to 
go by torch-light to Knaresborough castle, where she 
remained until the rebellion ceased, and her husband 
returned from Scotland. 

In the year 1399, the deposed Richard 11. was 
removed hither from Pickering castle, before his con- 
finement and murder at Pontefract. The place of his 
confinement is supposed to have been in that part of 
the ruins still called the king's chamber. 

Old Leland, time of Henry VIIL, says, — " The 
castle stondeth magnificently and strongly on a rok, 
and hath a very depe diche he wen out of the rok, wher 
it is not defendid by the ryverr of Mdde, that ther 
renneth in a deade stony bottom. I nombered a eleven 
or twelve Toures in the waul of the Castelle, and one 
very faire beside in the second area." 

The last and most important event connected with 
this castle, is its siege in 1644, by the forces of the 
parliament, and consequent partial demolition. In the 
early part of the civil wars, and till after the battle of 
Marston Moor, and reduction of York by the parlia- 



KNARESBOROUGH CASTLE. 109 

mentarians, the royalist garrison of Knaresborough, 
consisting of a great number of horse and foot, was the 
terror of the surrounding country, and scarcely a day 
passed in which the parliament did not receive intelli- 
gence of the depredations and wanton cruelties com- 
mitted by foraging and marauding parties of the king's 
horse, from the garrisons of this town and Skipton. 

After the battle of Marston Moor, detachments were 
sent off by the parliament's army, to take and reduce 
the castles in the neighbourhood of York, which still 
held out for the king. Among these, a body of three 
or four hundred men, under the command of colonel 
Lilburn, proceeded to Knaresborough, and summoned 
the castle to surrender ; the garrison at that time con- 
sisted only of townsmen, who, confiding in the strength 
of their walls and situation, and relying on a promise 
of immediate assistance from the north, determined to 
hold out as long as possible. 

Lilburn, not expecting any serious resistance, had 
brought no cannon with him, now sent off to York for 
two pieces, and as soon as they arrived, began to 
cannonade the castle, from a place called Grallow-hill, 
but without any effect, except greatly alarming the 
town, and killing and wounding several of the in- 
habitants. In the meantime the besieged were driven 
to great straights for want of provisions, and the town 
being in the enemy's possession made it very difficult 
to get any that way. A remarkable instance of filial 
piety is recorded on this occasion, as follows : A young 
man, living in the town, (whose father was one of the 



110 KNARESBOROUGH CASTLE. 

garrison,) had several times, at the hazard of his hfe, 
conveyed victuals to him, which he effected in the 
night, by getting into the moat, (which was dry,) 
climbing up the glacis, and putting the provisions into 
a hole, where the father was ready to receive them. 
Being at last spied by the guard belonging to the 
besiegers, they fired at him, but fortunately missed 
him ; he was, however, taken prisoner, and having 
made a full confession of his crime, was sentenced to 
be hanged next day, in the sight of the besieged, to 
deter others from giving them any assistance ; the 
sentence was about to be executed, when a lady, of the 
name of Whincup, with several others, petitioned the 
commander to pardon the unhappy youth, and suc- 
ceeded so far as to have him respited, and when the 
troops left the place he was set at liberty.* 

Lilburn had now spent upwards of three weeks 
before the castle, without having gained the least 
advantage ; his artillery being placed at too great a 
distance, and directed to a part of the castle where it 
was scarcely possible for him to do any execution ; at 
length one of the townsmen gave private intelligence 
to the enemy, of a particular place in the castle, which 
he knew would scarcely bear an assault : to make their 
cannon bear upon this part, the besiegers changed 
their ground, and erected a battery in a garden on the 
top of Briggate. The besieged, alarmed at this move- 
ment, made a sally, killed several of their enemies, and 
took some prisoners ; but seeing a large body of the 

* Grose's Antiquities of England, vol. vi. p. 128. 



KNARESBOROUGH CASTLE. Ill 

enemy advancing towards them, they retreated into 
the castle. Encouraged by this success, they made 
another sally, the night following, but found the enemy 
prepared to receive them, who beat them back into the 
castle, with the loss of several of their men. Next day 
a breach was made, and they were preparing to storm 
the castle, when the besieged desired a parley, and 
offered to surrender on promise of life and Hberty ; 
which being immediately granted, Lilburn's party were 
put in possession of the gates, and the garrison, which 
consisted of 120 men, were suffered to go where they 
pleased. In the castle were found four pieces of fine 
ordnance, a large store of arms, powder, and ammuni- 
tion, a considerable quantity of specie, and plate to the 
value of £1500, and other valuable booty. ''^ 

Sometime previous to the destruction of the castle, 
a petition was presented to parliament, by Mrs. Bast- 
wick, wife of Dr. John Bast wick, then a prisoner in the 
castle of Knaresborough, praying relief for her said 
husband, herself, and children ; which petition was 
favourably received, and £120. ordered to be paid to 
her. Soon afterwards. Dr. Bastwick was released from 
confinement, being .exchanged for colonel Huddlestone. 
The crime laid to his charge was, his having written a 
book, entitled Flagellum Pontificis et Episcoporum 
Latialium, for which he was fined in the star chamber 
£5000, and confined, first, in Launceston, afterwards 
in Scilly, then in the castle of York, and lastly in that 
of Knaresborough. 

* Vicak's Parliamentary Chronicles, vol. iii. p. 83. 



112 KNARESBOROTJGII CASTLE. 

On the 30th April, 1646, this castle, with several 
others in Yorkshire, viz., Pontefract, Sheffield, Cawood, 
Middleham, Bolton, Craike, Helmsley, Wressel, and 
Skipton, were ordered by parliament to be rendered 
untenable. The walls and towers have ever since been 
mouldering away ; yet, even now, its romantic situa- 
tion, the strength and elevation of its site, and the 
remaining fragments of its former greatness, strike the 
beholder with wonder and astonishment. 

The area included within the walls was nearly two 
acres and a half; the outer wall was flanked with 
eleven towers ; and these, with several other buildings 
in difierent wards, afforded convenience and accommo- 
dation for a numerous garrison. Part of the principal 
tower is yet remaining, and appears, from the style, to 
have been built about the time of Edward III. It 
consists of three stories above the dungeon ; the height 
is fifty-three feet, and the breadth fifty-four feet ; two 
sides of it are broken down ; on the remaining part 
are the marks of cannon shot, which have been fired 
against it. The first room on the ground floor, next 
the river, has been, from time immemorial, the reposi- 
tory of the ancient court records. Next to this is the 
guard room, thirty-two feet by twenty-two, with a 
vaulted roof supported by two massy pillars, which, at 
the height of six feet, diverge, and spread all over the 
roof. In this room is a fire-place, and several recesses; 
also a small room on one side, formerly the porter's 
lodge, lighted by a cruciform slit, the upper part of 
which is now broken off. Here is also a small circular 



KNARESBOROUGH CASILE. 113 

staircase, which led from the guard room to the state 
room, so narrow, that one sentinel alone might defend 
the passage. Next to the guard room, on the same 
level, was formerly the prison for debtors, within the 
forest and liberty of Knaresborough, which consists of 
two small rooms, the first, twelve feet by ten, the other 
seven feet square. 

The second story was entirely taken up by the anti- 
chamber and state room, commonly called the king's 
chamber ; each room appears to have been about six- 
teen feet square ; the first had a fire-place on the south 
side, and was lighted by two narrow slits on the 
opposite side. The state room had a large fire-place 
on the north, opposite to which was a most magnificent 
window, ten feet wide and fifteen high ; the elegant 
tracery of which was thrown down by a thunder storm, 
June 10th, 1806. Under this window are some small 
remains of an arched portal, which formerly led to the 
dungeon. The principal entrance into these rooms 
was contrived in such a manner as to render it inac- 
cessible to an enemy. It led first from the outer court 
through an arched portal, and a zigzag passage into a 
vestibule or guard room, from whence the only access 
to the antichamber was by a staircase of stone defended 
by two portcullises. The third story w^as of the same 
dimensions as the two former, and the top of the tower 
was crowned with a parapet and battlements. 

Underneath is the dungeon, into which the descent 
is by twelve steps. This prison is twenty-three feet in 
length and about twenty in breadth. The walls are of 
i" 



114 KNARESBOROUGH CASTLE. 

hewn stone, like those of the rest of the castle. The roof 
is arched with stone, and supported by one round pillar 
nine feet in circumference. Here is an aperture for the 
admission of air, nearly three feet square, next the room, 
but narrowing gradually until it terminates in a mere 
point on the outside, and arched all the way with stone, 
so that escape in that direction was impossible. The 
only ray of light, that the prisoners could enjoy, ap- 
pears to have been through the iron grate in the door 
at the top of the steps ; by the aid of which feeble 
glimmering, some of those unhappy persons, in ancient 
times, have endeavoured to beguile the tedious hours 
of confinement, by carving rude figures on the wall, 
amongst which are those of two men in the dress of 
the days of queen Elizabeth. 

On the south side of the castle are the remains of a 
gateway ; the grooves of the portcullis yet discernible 
between two semicircular pillars ; this was, doubtless, 
the grand portal or entrance. 

In the year 1786, some foundations were discovered 
on the south side of the castle, supposed to have been 
the remains of a chapel. The altar, built of large 
stones, well cemented, had been ornamented with 
paintings, some of the colours appearing very fresh ; 
here were also found fragments of painted glass, some 
human bones, part of an iron helmet, and a figure of 
our Saviour and the virgin mother rudely carved in 
marble. 

In a part of these ruins, behind the court-house, are 
the remains of a secret cell or hiding place, constructed 



KNARESBOROUGH CASTLE. 115 

in the middle of the wall This curious receptacle is 
lined with hewn stone, and is three feet four inches 
high, and two feet eight inches wide, and appears to 
have been more than twenty feet in length. At the 
farthest end, is a low stone seat, where two persons 
might sit in a bending posture. There does not appear 
to have been an}^ contrivance for the admission of air 
or light ; and the only advantage this apartment seems 
to have had above the common dungeon, was its being 
above ground. 

In one part of the castle yard, is the entrance of an 
arched subterraneous passage, leading from thence into 
the moat. This, no doubt, was very useful during, a 
siege, when the common entrance was strictly watched 
by surrounding enemies. 

From every appearance, it may be concluded, that 
this castle had all the advantages of strength and 
situation that could be desired before the invention of 
artillery, and even after that period was found to be a 
place not easily reduced. At the western extremity of 
the elevated platform on which it stands, an abrupt 
precipice, at least sixty feet in depth, rendered it in- 
accessible on that gide ; on the other sides, a deep 
moat, protected by a barbacan, cut off all external 
communication in that direction, and secured the gar- 
rison against any sudden incursion or surprise. 

From viewing these mouldering remains of the pomp 
and grandeur of former times, the eye is relieved, and 
the mind cheered, by the romantic beauties of the 
adjacent vale ; a delicious picture of enclosures, woods, 



116 KNARESBOROUGH CASTLE. 

and rocks, at the bottom of which a fine river takes its 
bending course, shaded in manj places with hanging 
woods. On one side, houses and trees range along the 
edge of the precipice, the elegant new railway bridge, 
the parish church, the high bridge, and Coghill Hall. 
On the other, Belmont, with its woods and inclosures, 
Bilton Hall, and a view up the vale of the Nidd, with 
the distant heights of Brimham rocks, in the back 
ground, complete this delightful scene. 



117 



JfnmTtams %hht^. 



This abbey is situate four miles west of Eipon, in 
the delightful grounds of Studley ; no ruin in Yorkshire 
is better known, or more visited than this. Art and 
nature have alike striven to adorn this delightful little 
valley with their choicest treasures. Any description of 
the beauties of the park and pleasure grounds would be 
out of place here ; yet of surpassing excellence as they 
are, it -is well known that the abbey forms their chiefest 
attraction. After winding along pleasant walks, through 
shady avenues, over smooth lawns, by sparkling cas- 
cades, and crystal waters, reposing in pleasant spots, 
and contemplating a landscape of uncommon natural 
and artificial beauty, we at length behold the ruins of 
the richest Cistercian foundation in the north of Eng- 
land ; stretching across, and filling the narrow valley 
with its enormous bulk. Were it not for the blank 
windows, and roofless walls, we might be tempted to 
think we were, gazing on a complete building, so little 
mutilated does it appear at the first view. The tower 
is nearly as complete as when it came from the 
builder's hands ; and the other buildings are probably 
more perfect, and retain more the appearance of the 
original structure, than those of any similar edifice in 
the kingdom. Some conjecture may be formed of its 



118 FOUNTAINS ABBEY. 

former wealth and consequence, from the following 
sketch of its history. 
7» In the year 1132 ^ certain Benedictine monks of the 

abbey of St. Mary's, in York, displeased with the 
relaxation of discipline in their convent, and disgusted 
with the luxury of their life, resolved to migrate where 
monastic manners were practised with more severity, 
and determined to embrace the rules of the Cistercian 
monks, at Rievaux, and applied for that purpose to 
Thurstan, archbishop of York, whom they requested 
to favour their designs. The prelate, with many of the 
clergy, went to St. Mary's, where they found the abbot 
and his attendants prepared to resist his authority, 
and threatening to punish the discontented monks. 
The archbishop was refused admittance into the chapter 
house, when a riot ensued, and the prelate, having 
interdicted the abbot and his monks, left the monastery, 
taking under his protection the prior, the sub-prior, 
and eleven monks, who withdrew from the convent, 
and were entertained by the archbishop for eleven 
weeks. During this period, the abbot made frequent 
complaints to the king, bishops, and abbots, against 
the archbishop, for depriving him of part of his flock. 
Thurstan having determined to celebrate the Christ- 
ie mas of JJ^, at his manor of Ripon, he selected for 
the monks, on the 27th of December, a shelter in the 
little valley of the Skell, then the receptacle of wild 
beasts, and overgrown with wood and brambles ; he 
also gave them the village of Sutton. During part 
of the winter, a large elm tree was their shelter; 



FOUNTAINS ABBEY. 119 

afterwards, they are said to have taken up their abode 
beneath the covert of seven yew trees, on the south 
side of the valley, some of which yet survive in the 
abbey close. Under these it appears they resided, 
until the monastery was built. The fame of their 
sanctity induced many to join them, which proportion- 
ally increased their distress, and rendered their poverty 
still more severe. In vain did the abbot solicit relief, 
as famine that year had extended all over the country ; 
and the leaves of trees, and herbs boiled with a little 
salt, with the exception of a small supply from the 
archbishop, formed their only food. In the midst of 
their distress, Eustace Fitz John, lord of Knares- 
borough, sent them a cart load of bread. Their suffer- 
ing had now reached its height, and a tide of prosperity 
set in. Hugh, dean of York, a man of great influence 
and riches, labouring under a disease which was likely 
to be fatal, resolved to join the brotherhood. For 
this purpose he removed to the abbey, bringing with 
him great treasures of money and goods, as well as a 
valuable collection of books. The building of the 
monastery then commenced, their chapel or oratory 
being previously constructed of wattles. Soon after, 
Serlo, a canon of York minster, being on the point of 
death, caused himself to be brought hither, with a 
great amount of personal property. Tosti, a rich 
fellow canon, also joined the society. 

About the year 1140, William, archbishop of York, 
being deposed, the soldiers of the party which favoured 
him, having endeavoured in vain to find Henry Murdoch, 



120 FOUNTALN'S ABBEY. 

the abbot, in revenge set fire to the monastery, which, 
with half the oratory, was consumed. 

The monastery was refounded about the year 1143, 
and the foundations of the church were laid, and some 
pillars raised by John de Ebor, in 1204. John de 
Pherd, the next abbot, carried on the work with much 
vigour, which was finished by his successor, John of 
Kent, who died in 1246. He instituted nine altars in 
the church, added the painted pavement, the new 
cloister, the infirmary, and a house for the entertain- 
ment of the poor. 

A period of povert}^ and distress was followed by 
great prosperity in the next century. Many persons 
of power and opulence purchased, by large donations, 
a sepulture within the walls of the abbey.''" 

Favoured by popes, kings, and prelates, with various 
immunities and privileges, and enriched by a succes- 
sion of princely gifts, Fountains abbey became one of 
the wealthiest monasteries in the kingdom. The 
church ranked among the fairest structures in the 
land ; and the possessions attached to the establish- 

* Amongst these were the most ancient and noble family of Percy, of 
whom, although they founded the monasteries of Whitby, Sallay, and Handal, 
two of the most illustrious were buried here. Lord Richard de Percy, one of 
the barons who were instrumental in obtaining the great charter from king 
John, and who was appointed one of the twenty-four guardians to see to the 
due observance of it, was buried in the wall of Fountains abbey ; and lord 
Richard's great nephew, lord Henry de Percy, who held a high command 
under Edward I. in his wars in Scotland; who was made governor of 
(Calloway and Ayre, in 129G; and invested by the same king with the- 
earldom of Carrick, forfeited by Robert Bruce ; was brought into Yorkshire 
for sepulture, and buii(>d in the chuich of Fountains, before the high altar. 
A. 1). 1315. 



FOUNTAINS ABBEY. 121 

ment were of vast extent ; embracing the country from 
the foot of Pennigent to the boundaries of St. Wilfrid, 
of Ripon, an uninterrupted space of more than thirty 
miles. Besides many other wide domains, the lands 
in Craven contained in a ring fence, were one hundred 
square miles, or 60,000 acres, on a moderate computa- 
tion. 

After obtaining a high reputation for sanctity, and 
the possession of great power and almost boundless 
w^ealth, the monastery was surrendered by Marmaduke 
Bradley, the thirty-eighth and last abbot, November 
26th, 1539. The annual revenues, at that time, amount- 
ed to £998. 6s. 8^d., according to Dugdale's account ; 
and to £1073. Os. 7 id., according to that of Speed ; 
while Dr. Burton, on the authority of an ancient MS., 
estimates the income at £1125. 18s. Ifd. At the 
same time, the plate was valued at £708. 5s. 9d. 
They also had in possession 2356 horned cattle, 1326 
sheep, 86 horses, 79 swine, 117 quarters of wheat, 12 
qrs. of rye, 90 qrs. of barley and malt, and 2 qrs. of 
oats. A pension was assigned to Bradley of £100. per 
annum, and annual allowances to the monks of from 
£5. to £8. each 

After the surrender of the abbey, the buildings 
escaped immediate violence ; and generally speaking, 
little more than the roofs, the glass, internal fittings, 
and furniture, were removed. On the 1st of October, 
1540, the king granted the site of the house, with a 
part of the lands belonging to it, the site of Swine 
abbey, and the monastery of Nunkeeling, with theii- 



122 FOUNTAINS ABBEY. 

churches and hells, to Sir Richard Gresham, for the 
sum of £1163. In 1596, William Gresham, Esq., sold 
this estate to Stephen, afterwards Sir Stephen Proctor, 
of Warsal, in the parish of Ripon, for £4500. Who 
being attracted by the beauty of the situation, resolved 
to ^x his residence here ; and accordingly, in 1611, 
built Fountains hall, about 200 yards west of the 
abbey, having pulled down the abbot's lodging for the 
sake of supplying materials. In 1627, the abbey was 
in possession of Richard Ewens, Esq., of South Cowton, 
whose daughter and sole heiress married John 
Messenger, Esq.j of Newsham. This estate remained 
in the Messenger family till the year 1767, when John 
Michael Messenger, Esq., sold it to William Aislabie, 
Esq., of Studley, for £18,000. He at once joined the 
abbey to his pleasure-grounds, cleared out the trees 
which were growing within it, removed the rubbish, 
and laid down smooth and level lawns around it. 
From that time to the present, the venerable walls 
have never been subjected to wanton spoliation, and 
even time has laid his mouldering hand gently upon 
them ; nothing has been pulled down, and nothing 
added ; fragments that have occasionally fallen down 
have been rebuilt, and a most careful conservation 
exercised over the whole. On the demise of the late 
proprietress, Mrs. EKzabeth Sophia Lawrence, in July, 
1845, the park and grounds of Studley Royal came 
into possession of the Earl de Grey, the present 
owner; who, since then, has caused the accumulated 
rubbish to be excavated from the abbot's house, and 



FOUNTAINS ABBEY. 123 

otherwise altered and improved the approaches to 
the abbey. 

The buildings of this monastery, when complete, are 
said to have covered twelve acres of ground, the ruins 
now occupy about two acres. 

Above the great western entrance of the church, is a 
large window, of which the tracery is gone ; above it 
is a niche, supported by the carved figure of a bird, 
perched on a bow, with a label inscribed, derne, and 
the date 1494. Entering the church, the eye rests on 
the long and sombre vista of the nave, which is of 
heavy Norman architecture, and the oldest remaining 
portion of the building. Round and lofty pillars, six- 
teen feet in circumference, divide the nave from the 
side aisles ; the pointed arches above, chamfered in 
several gradations, are an early and interesting speci- 
men of the transition from the original Norman semi- 
circle. They are surmounted only by a row of plain, 
flanning, round-headed lights, over which the string is 
continued in a label moulding. The aisles of the nave 
are groined in quadrilateral bays, without ribs, which 
are supported and divided by broad flat arches, spring- 
ing from the capitals of shafts attached to the massive 
columns — to brackets in the exterior wall. At the 
west end of the south aisle, are communications with 
the dormitory, the cemetery, and the cloister. The 
whole length of the interior is 358 feet 3 inches, and 
its width 67 feet 3 inches. The tesselated pavement 
of the high altar has been carefully relaid ; the simple 
patterns divided in the upper platform into three chief 



124 FOUNTAINS ABBEY. 

compartments, are formed of single tesserae of red, 
yellow, black, and grey. It is a truly beautiful and 
highly interesting relic of antiquity, as it is probably 
part of the painted floor which was bestowed on the 
church by John de Cancia, who sat from 1219 to 1246. 
The table which was used for thehigh altar, on prin- 
cipal days, had three images of silver gilt, and was 
ornamented with silver, and in some parts with gold, 
set with precious stones, and valued, in the money of 
Henry VIIFs time, at £90. or £94. 

Not far from the north horn of the altar is a stone 
coffin, six feet four inches long, sunk beneath the 
sward, which is said to have contained the remains of 
Henry de Percy, who died in 1315. 

At the eastern extremity of the church, under the 
great window, is a gallery of modern erection, supported 
by twelve marble pillars. The view from this gallery, 
westward, unfolds the long spacious aisles of the church, 
in regular and beautiful perspective ; while eastward, 
the scene is one of romantic lovliness and tranquil 
repose. 

The tracery of the great east window is gone, and 
of the screen or rood loft, not a fragment remains. 

The tower, a majestic and beautiful specimen of the 
perpendicular style, is placed at the end of the north 
transept, and harmonizes more with the style of the 
eastern transepts than any other portion of the build- 
ing. Its walls are remarkably fresh, and its details of 
mouldings, niches, canopies, detached pinnacles, and 
open embrasures, are nearly perfect, and merit the 



FOUNTAINS ABBEY. 125 

closest examination. With the exception of the several 
chambers, glass, and tracery of a single window, which 
fell out many years ago, the structure remains as 
perfect, fresh, and stable, as when the builders left it. 
The height of this elegant structure is one hundred 
and sixty-six feet nine inches, and its area, at the 
base, twenty-four feet square. On the fillets, above 
and below the belfrey windows, are inscribed, in the 
Tudor black letter, boldly relieved, — 
On east side. Benediccio et caritas et sapiencia 

graciarum accio honor. 
SoU deo i' hu x'po honor et gl'ia in 

s'cla s'clor. 
North side. Et virtus et fortitude deo nostro in 

secula seculorum. Amen. 
West side. Regi autem seculorum immortali 

invisili'. Soli deo i'hu x' po 

honor et gFia in s'cla s'clor. 
South side. Soli deo honor et gloria in secula 

seculorum. Amen. 
Above the lowermost west window is an angel, 
standing on the canopy of a vacant niche, holding a 
shield, on which is .carved a mitre and croiser, and the 
letters M. H., the initials of Marmaduke Huby. The 
date 1494, the year in which he was elected to the 
abbacy, i^ on the bracket of a niche above the base- 
ment window on the east side. In another niche, over 
the lowermost north window, is a crowned figure, 
holding a pen in his right, and a book in his left 
hand. 



126 FOUNTAINS ABBEY. 

The eastern transept of the church, called the 
sanctum sanctorum, or holy place, to which none but 
the principal persons of the abbey were admitted, 
extends one hundred and fifty feet in length, and 
presents a fine specimen of early Enghsh architecture ; 
plain, and somewhat massive in its general appear- 
ance, but with many well proportioned details. The 
great east window and adjoining buttresses display 
the magnificence and beauty of the latest style 
of Gothic architecture, which is here indicated by 
the remains of perpendicular muUions, flying but- 
tresses, and crocketed pinnacles. The great window 
has apparently had nine lights and a transom, and 
been sixty-three feet in height by twenty-three feet 
four inches in width. The other windows of this 
front, twelve in number, are narrow, pointed, and sup- 
ported by slender shafts. Between them are semi- 
octangular buttresses, and the keystone of the upper 
window, at the north end, has a head entwined with 
snakes carved on the exterior ; and in the inside, the 
same stone forms the resemblance of an angel, vdth a 
scroll inscribed, Anno Domini, 1483. The keystone of 
another window, at the south end, has on the outside a 
rebus of the founder, and abbot Darnton's name, a 
thrush, and beneath, an angel holding a ton, on which 
is inscribed the syllable Derne. In the interior, the 
same stone forms a mitred head, and the figure of a 
pilgrim, standing on a serpent, the emblem of eternity. 

The length of the interior of this part of the church, 
sometimes called the lady chapel, is one hundred and 



FOUNTAINS ABBEY. 127 

thirty feet, and the breadth thirty-five feet. The 
marble shafts, sharply pointed arches, and other details, 
merit close attention ; but the principal grandeur of 
this portion results from the stately arches, which are 
supported midway by octagonal pillars, eight feet in 
circumference. These have formerly been enriched 
with marble shafts at each angle, composing a clustered 
column, the elegance of which may be readily con- 
ceived from the imposing effect of what remains. 

The whole of this chapel, and the adjoining parts of 
the choir, are marked by simplicity and loftiness of 
style, alike removed from the castle-like gloom of the 
^N'orman buildings, and that laboured richness and 
elaborate ornament, which, at a later period, was often 
obtained at the expense of chaste beauty and simple 
elegance. 

On each side of the choir are two chantry chapels. 
In the one to the north, under an arch in the wall, lies 
a cross-legged figure, in link mail, usually attributed to 
Roger de Mowbray, who died in 1297. His shield 
bears a lion rampant. On a stone over the entrance 
into the chapel is inscribed, altare michaelis arch. 
At the entrance to one of the south chapels, under a 
bush, is a fragment of the monumental slab of one of 
the abbots, richly sculptured in low rehef ; it bears a 
mitred figure, holding in one hand a croiser. Round 
the edges is part of an inscription in black letter, now 
illegible. 

From a door at the south-east corner of the nave, a 
few steps descend to the quadrangular court, now 



128 FOUNTAINS ABBEY. 

preserved as an ornamental shrubbery. This area is 
one hundred and twenty-five feet square, and is sur- 
rounded by the buildings of the monastery. 

The chapter-house, over v^hicli was the scriptorium 
and library, was the place of public confession, and of 
many observances of the severe monastic discipline 
imposed by the Cistercian rule. It was divided from 
the south transept by a narrow vestry. It had three 
aisles, divided by marble columns, of which five alone 
remain. The area is eighty-four feet seven inches, by 
forty-one feet. Dr. Burton learned from the records 
of the abbey, that nineteen of the abbots were buried 
here ; which information led to the clearance of the 
apartment in 1791, when fragments of the tombstones 
of fifteen were discovered, and the following inscrip- 
tions are yet legible. 
Hi reqiescit : dompnvs Joh's X. Abbas de Fontibv. 

QVJ. OBIJT. VIII. DeCEMBRIS. 

This abbot, John de Ebor, who began to rebuild the 
choir, died on the 8th of December, 1210. By his 
side lies appropriately John of Kent, the twelfth abbot, 
who finished it, and died 25th November, 1246, with 
this brief memorial ; — 
H^ REQIESCIT : DOMPNVS Joh's : XII : Abbas de Fontib' : 

Q^ OBIJT XXV : ISTOVEMBRIS. 

A plain ridged gravestone, on the south side of the 
above, covers the remains of the fourteenth abbot, 
William de AUerton, who died December 1st, 1258. 
The stone never appears to have had any inscription. 

On a fragment is Adam XIIV. abbas. 



FOUNTAINS ABBEY. 129 

This belongs to the fifteenth abbot, who died a 
few months after his election, on the 30th of April, 
1259. 

Another fragment, on a broken sandstone near the 
middle of the room, commemorates Reginald, the 
seventeenth abbot, who died on the 25th of October, 
1274. 

Henry de Otteley, the twenty-first abbot, who died 
December 24th, 1290, was buried in the entrance to 
the-chapter house, and a flat monumental flag, near 
the centre doorway, may be supposed to cover his 
remains. 

South of the chapter-house are some ruins, over 
which, it is supposed, has been a set of lodging rooms. 
Four thick shafts are standing, along what appears to 
have been the area of an apartment; these have corbels 
opposite to them in the wall. On clearing away some 
rubbish from this part, a small brass basin, and some 
apothecaries^ weights were found, near one of the 
pillars. The rude effigy of a monk, with a book in his 
hand, is placed against the north wall. 

The kitchen has been subdivided into two apart- 
ments, and one of the singular flat-arched chimneys 
has been walled up. The fire-place is sixteen feet 
three inches wide, six feet seven inches high, and six 
feet nine inches deep. The provisions were served 
hence into the refectory, through hatchways in the 
wall. Above the kitchen is the court-room, an apart- 
ment forty-two feet seven inches long, and twenty-two 
feet seven inches wide. The ribs of the groined roof 

K 



130 FOUNTAINS ABBEY. 

meet in a pillar, without capital or base. The court 
for the liberty of Fountains was, until lately, held in 
this room. 

On entering the refectory, it is impossible to avoid 
admiring the beauty of its proportions, and the simple 
and graceful architecture of its walls. In the arcade, 
which flanks its deeply recessed portal, were placed 
the cisterns, where the monks washed previous to their 
meals. This noble apartment, which measures one 
hundred and nine feet by forty-six and a half, was 
lighted by twenty lights, and has been divided by 
a row of marble columns, similar to those of the 
chapter-house. On the west side is the gallery, 
whence a portion of Scripture was read during the 
repast. The reader's desk is broken down, but 
its bracket remains, in the shape of an expanded 
flower. 

The gloomy vault of the cloisters forms a double 
arcade, stretching, sombre and dark, three hundred 
feet in length, divided by nineteen octagonal pillars, 
each five feet two inches in circumference, without 
capitals. The windows towards the south end are 
pointed ; the rest are round headed, exhibiting that 
close union of the Norman and early English archi- 
tecture which prevails throughout the structure, and 
corresponds with the period when one style was gradu- 
ally giving way to the other. 

The south end of the cloisters is built over the Skell, 
the running waters of which add a romantic charm to 
the venerable gloom of this seat of meditation and 



FOUNTAINS ABBEY. 131 

retirement. A circular stone Basin, six feet eight 
inches in diameter, stands in one of the aisles, which 
has been originally a lavatory, since converted into a 
cyder mill. 

Above the cloisters was the dormitory, apportioned 
into about forty cells. It is still approached from the 
outside by a spacious flight of stairs, winding over the 
porter's lodge. The infirmary built over the Skell, has 
been cleared by a late excavation. 

Westward of the cloisters are the ruins of the alms- 
house, where the poor were fed. The western gate- 
house, or porter's lodge, stood about one hundred 
yards west of the church ; near it is the mill, — that 
necessary adjunct of all monastic establishments, and 
other buildings. 

In the abbey close, now divided into fields, are 
scattered masses of masonry, and fragments of build- 
ings. The foundations of the bakehouse, smith's shop, 
and stables, may still be traced ; while, up the valley 
sides, are the fish-ponds, now choked with weeds ; 
beyond which, and yet of its original height, is the 
wall enclosing the abbey close. 

In the rocks on the northern side of the valley, 
whence the stone for building the abbey was taken, is 
a remarkable echo, clear and loud ; words, and even 
short sentences, being distinctly repeated, and returned 
from the ruined walls of the abbey. 

Such were the principal features of interest at 
Fountains abbey, until the excavations recently made 
by order of the earl de Grey, which revealed the 



132 FOUNTAINS ABBEY. 

foundations of the abbot^s lodgings, with all their sub- 
ordinate offices.''^ 

In November, 1848, the earl de Grey, who had 
recently come into possession of the abbey, directed 
that a portion of the watercourses or tunnels, on the 
south-east, which had fallen many years before, should 
be repaired. The removal of the superincumbent soil 
being consequently necessary, a fragment of an early 
English pavement was discovered. After some further 
trial of the rubbish, which varied in depth from three 
to six feet, his lordship directed that an excavation of 
the whole site of the house should be undertaken. 
During its progress, it soon became evident, that when 
Proctor had required materials for the erection of 
Fountains hall, the whole building had been pulled 
down, as near the foundations as the rubbish accumu- 
lated in the work of destruction would allow. In 
several places, indeed, the foundations have been 
reached, and no elevation of masonry suffered to re- 
main that rose above the height of four or five feet. 
Even the floors were torn up, and nothing was inten- 
tionally left on the site except such stones as, from 
their quality, form, or size, were unfit for further use. 

The ruins of the house are situated at the south-east 
angle of the lady chapel, a situation dictated, ap- 
parently, by a general regulation ; but unlikely, in this 

* For the account of the discoveries made during this excavation we are 
entirely indebted to a paper on that suhject, by J. R. Walburn, Esq. ; we are 
also indebted to that gentleman's works for other important matter relating 
to the abbey, — an obligation which we take this opportunity to gratefully 
acknowledge. 



FOUNTAINS ABBEY. 183 

instance, either to promote cheerfulness or contentment 
in its inmates. Thej enjoyed, indeed, a few glimpses of 
of the morning sun ; but the glorious sunsets down the 
picturesque Skell — worth the pilgrimage of many a 
mile to behold — were shut out by the lofty buildings 
of the convent, which covered the bosom of the valley. 
With an inconsiderable exception, the whole house 
rested on four parallel tunnels, through which flowed 
the waters of the Skell ; these tunnels were each six 
feet high, and as many wide. The main walls of the 
house were arranged with reference to these tunnels ; 
the sides of which, like some parts of the abbey, were 
based on a rock. 

The architecture of the abbot^s house, like that of 
the abbey, has been plain and substantial ; depending 
more on the amount and combination of the main out- 
lines, than on the elaborate decoration of parts. In 
amplitude of dimension, indeed, it far exceeded it ; 
and at the time of its foundation, was probably the 
most spacious house in the kingdom, erected irres- 
pective of military occupation or defence. 

The principal hall or room of. the house was no less 
than one hundred an.d seventy feet in length, by seventy 
in breadth ; a capacity created, doubtless, rather in 
satisfaction of the magnificent mind of the founder, than 
respective of the general scale of the monastery. The 
north end of it is now level with the sward ; a great 
portion of the west side is scarcely more apparent, and 
the rest entirely destroyed by the lapse of the river 
arch below. On the east and south, little more than 



134 FOUNTAINS ABBEY. 

three or four courses remain. Nevertheless, as the 
ground-plan may be easily defined, and important 
fragments of the superstructure were found within the 
area, a tolerable accurate idea of its former apj)earance 
can be obtained. It has occupied the whole width of 
the house, from north to south ; and, like the great 
Norman halls, was divided by pillars into a nave and 
side aisles, the latter having circulated round the ex- 
tremities of the former. Each of these pillars, of 
which there had been seven on each side, independent 
of the corner piers, was a cylinder of thirteen inches 
in diameter, resting on a square base two feet high ; 
and together with the four attached marble shafts, was 
banded with the same material, in an elegant manner, 
to which the rudely foliated capitals of gritstone in- 
sufficiently corresponded. Of the arches, which were 
no doubt pointed, few fragments are left, though suf- 
ficient to show the character of the mouldings. The 
domestic oratory, or chapel, has been forty-six and a 
half feet, by twenty three feet. The stone altar, though 
it has lost its slab, remains tolerably perfect, on a low 
platform that has apparently been paved with large 
tiles or slabs of marble, ten inches square, alternately 
in lozenge form, with white stones, of which some por- 
tions remain attached to the wall. On the opposite 
side of the chapel, a shallow piscina, cut in a thin 
slab, was found detached upon the floor, near a small 
orifice communicating immediately with the river 
below. On the north side of the chapel, but much 
below its level, is a picturesque apartment; fifty-eight 



FOUNTAINS ABBEY. 135 

feet by twenty-eight, still partially vaulted ; and which, 
having been hitherto accessible, from the declivity of 
the ground, has been delineated as a crypt, though 
stoutly asserted by the common people to have been 
" the place where the abbot's six milk-white chariot 
horses were kept/' " Sex equi ad bigam" — whatever 
that vehicle may have been, and '^Sea^ equi ad stabulum 
domini ahhatis^^ mentioned in an inventory of the live 
stock of the house, at the time of its dissolution, may 
confirm this singular tradition to the ear ; but, judging 
from the relative position and general appearance of 
the place, it is more likely to have been one of the 
domestic offices, and particularly the storehouse of 
the establishment. 

On the south side of the yard was a kitchen ; an 
apartment corroborating in its dimensions and appli- 
ances, the most romantic ideas of monastic hospitality. 
Indeed, in both respects, it much exceeded that which 
served the monastery, and measured no less than fifty 
feet, by thirty-eight and a half feet. Like the rest of 
the house, it has unfortunately been pulled down, with- 
in a few courses of the ground ; but from the position 
of the buttresses, we may conclude that it has been 
vaulted, or, more probably, was covered by a pyramidal 
roof At the south side, are the foundations of two 
great fire-places and a boiler, in a wall which has 
divided a narrow back kitchen from the chief apartment ; 
and in the south-east angle, a very singular stone grate 
in the floor, which has been covered by wooden doors, 
and communicated immediately with the river below. 



1B6 FOUNTAINS ABBEY. 

The refectory has been a fine room, upwards of sixty 
feet in length, and twenty-three feet nine inches in 
width. The dais, at the upper end, has a space of nine 
feet three inches for the table, and another of two feet, 
behind it, for the bench ; the elevations of each being 
about nine inches, and ornamented on the face with a 
row of quatrefoils, which having been cut in limestone, 
has nearly mouldered away since its exposure. Stone 
benches yet remain attached to each side of the 
refectory, and some floor tiles. 

In the yard, the last supply of coal that the house 
had needed remained undisturbed under the sward, 
until the time of the excavation. In the same yard 
were found a great variety of articles of domestic use — 
as a spoon weighing about an ounce, with a capacious 
bowl, slender octagonal stem, and a head similar to an 
inverted Tudor bracket ; immense quantities of broken 
pottery, a silver ring, a broad brass ring, a copper can, 
several Nuremburgh tokens, and bushels of oyster, 
mussel, and cockle shells ; along with a great number 
of other articles, all more or less illustrating the 
domestic life of that period. 

The encaustic floor tiles found on excavating the 
several apartments, were numerous and remarkable. 
One pattern, of four tiles, displays the arms of the 
abbey, azure, three horse shoes, or, and the very ap- 
propriate inscription, Benedicite pontes domino. 
Another, and nearly similar pattern, of Tudor tiles^ 
exhibits the same arras, but circumscribed by (Soli) 
DEO GLORIA, a motto always used by abbot Huby. 



FOUNTAINS ABBEY. 137 

On removing the earth from under the arch at the 
western extremity of one of the watercourses, a hoard 
of silver money was discovered, consisting of three 
hundred and fifty-four pieces, generally in excellent 
preservation, ranging in date, from the reign of Philip 
and Mary, to that of Charles I. ; a few of the earlier 
pieces being Spanish coin. They were laid without 
any apparent envelope, at the depth of only a foot ; 
and were doubtless committed to this particular place 
by some thrifty inhabitant of the adjacent country, 
who had been slain during the civil wars ; for the 
place was easy to have been identified, even at night, 
by any one who shared the secret. 

Three cells, which had been used as prisons, were 
also cleared out. They were used for the punishment 
of such monks as had been guilty of felony, or other 
heinous crimes. The largest cell had a window ; the 
others had been intended for the infliction of severer 
discipline, from the absence of light, and the presence 
of a convenience which added only to the offensive 
character of the place. Both have traces of iron in 
the wall ; but a formidable staple in the floor of the 
innermost, tells significantly that it was reserved for 
the most heinous, or incorrigible offender ; the stench 
was so intolerable as to require quick lime to be thrown 
into it, before it could be cleaned out. 

This excavation has added much to the interest of 
this most attractive of ruins, which must long continue 
one of the largest and best preserved of monastic 
buildings of which this country can boast, presenting 



138 FOUNTAINS ABBEY. 

grand combinations of pictorial beauty to the artist 
— a study to the architect and antiquary, and to 
the curious a memorial of a state of religion and 
manners which have long since passed away from 
our country. 



139 



i0lt0it ^rinrg. 



Like Fountains and Kirkstall, Bolton Priory is a well 
known ruin, famous for the unique beauty of its situation, 
and visited annually by admiring thousands. It stands 
upon a beautiful curvature of the Wharfe, on a level 
sufficiently elevated to protect it from inundation, yet 
low enough for every purpose of picturesque effect ; in 
the latter respect it has no equal among the northern 
houses, perhaps not in the kingdom. Fountains, as a 
building, is more entire, more spacious and magnificent, 
but the valley of the Skell is without features. Furness, 
which is more dilapidated, ranks still lower in point of 
situation. Kirkstall, as a mere ruin, is superior to 
Bolton ; but, though deficient neither in wood nor 
water, it wants the seclusion of a deep valley, and the 
termination of a bold, rocky back ground. Tintern, 
which most resembles it, has rock, wood, and water, in 
perfection, but no foreground whatever.* 

The legend of its foundation in this singularly beau- 
tiful spot, is at once interesting and romantic. 

In the year 1120, WiUiam de Meschines, and Cecily 
his wife, the heiress of Robert de Eomille, to whom 
William the Conqueror granted vast possessions in 
Craven, founded at Embsay, two miles east of Skipton, 

* Whitaker's Craven. 



140 BOLTON PRIORY. 

a priory for Augustinian canons, to the honour of the 
virgin Mary and St. Cuthbert. Its endowment con- 
sisted of the village of Embsay, and the church of the 
Holy Trinity, at Skipton, with its chapel of Carlton ; 
to which Cecily afterwards added, for the health of 
her soul, and that of her parents, the village and mill 
of Kildwick, and certain lands at Stratton. The con- 
veyance of this latter gift was made in a peculiar 
manner, being effected, as the charter records, by her 
and her son-in-law, William, placing a knife upon the 
altar of the conventual church. 

The founders were now dead, and had left a daughter, 
who adopted her mother^s name, Romille, who was 
married to William Fitz Duncan, nephew of David, 
king of Scotland. They had a son, commonly known 
as the boy of Egremond, who, surviving an elder 
brother, became the last hope of the family. In the 
deep solitude of the woods between Bolton and Barden, 
the Wharfe suddenly contracts itself to a rocky channel, 
little more than four feet wide, and pours through the 
narrow chasm with a rapidity proportioned to its con- 
finement. This place was then, as it is yet, caUed the 
Strid ; from a feat often exercised by persons of more 
agility than prudence, who stride from brink to brink, 
regardless of the destruction which awaits a faltering 
step. Such was the fate of young Romille, who, in- 
considerately bounding over the chasm with a grey- 
hound in his leash, the animal hung back, and drew 
his unfortunate master into the torrent. A forester, 
who witnessed his fate, but was unable to render him 



BOLTON PRIORY. 141 

any assistance, hastened to his mother, the lady 
AdeHza, and with a sad countenance, and accents of 
deep sorrow, inquired in the terms of the age, " What 
is good for a bootless bene f '^ to which, the mother, 
under the presentiment that some calamity had hap- 
pened to her son, replied, " Endless sorrow ! " 

Say what remains when hope is fled ? 

She answered, Endless weeping ! 
For in the herdsman's eye she read 

Who in his shroud was sleeping. 
At Embsay rung the matin bell, 
The stag was roused in Barden fell ; 
The mingled sounds were swelling — dying, 
And down the Wharfe a hern was flying ; 
When near the cabin in the wood, 

In tartan clad and forest green, 
With hound m leash and hawk in hood, 

The boy of Egremond was seen. 
Blythe was his song — a song of yore — 

But where the rock is rent in two, 

And the river rushes through, 
His voice was heard no more. 
'Twas but a step ! the gulph he pass'd. 
But that step — it was his last ! 
As through the mist he wing'd his way, 
(A cloud that hovers night and day,) 
The hound hung back — and back he drew 
The master and his merlin too ! 
That narrow place of noise and strife 
Received their little all of life ! — Rogers. 

Such was the accident which caused the removal of 
the priory from the high, bleak situation of Embsay, 
to the warm and beautiful valley of the Wharfe ; and 
Bolton was the nearest eligible site to the place where 
it happened. 



142 BOLTON PRIORY. 

When lady Adeliza mourn'd 

Her son, and felt in her despair 

The pang of unavailing prayer ; 

Her son in Wharfe's abysses drown'd, 

The noble boy of Egremound. 

From which afiliction — when the grace 

Of God had in her heart found place, 

A pious structure, fair to see 

Rose up, this stately priory ! — Wordsworth. 

This is said to have happened in the year 1151. 
Doubts may be cast upon the truth of this story, and 
antiquaries may deny its authenticity, but so shall not 
we. It is truth-like, touching, and beautiful ; and we 
revere the mother's sorrow, and approve her pious 
design. How similar in origin is this priory to that of 
Kirkham and the abbey of Rievaux : we cannot but 
sympathise with the grim old warrior, Walter d' Espec, 
who declares, when his only son is killed by an acci- 
dent, " Many a poor man's son shall be my heir." To 
us, more worthy of admiration are the poor and humble 
brethren of Fountains and Jerveaux, when struggling 
with poverty, hunger, and privations of all kinds, 
upheld by a firm faith in God, and a devotion that 
nothing could change or subdue ; than when they had 
become rich and great, owners of wide domains, and 
masters of numberless flocks ; when the abbot of each 
lordly house had become 

" a rider, a roamer about, 
A leader of love days and a land buyer, 
A pricker on a palfrey from manor to manor. 
An heap of hounds behind him as he a lord were." 

Adeliza gave to the brethren of Bolton that place, 
and the whole village of Bolton, to found there a church 



BOLTON PRIORY. 143 

of canons regular ; and the place called Stede, and the 
land between Posford and Spectbeck, and the rivers 
Wharfe and Walkesburn. Among the benefactors to 
this house, besides those already mentioned, were, 
Henry de Trancher, and Cecily his wife ; William 
Vavasour ; Simon de Braan, and Alan de Wintworth. 

The churches of Carlton in Craven, Harewood, 
Keighley, Kildwick in Craven, Skipton, Marton in 
Craven, and Broughton in Airdale, belonged to this 
house. 

In 1299, the annual income of the establishment 
amounted to not less than £867. 17s. 6fd., an 
enormous sum in those days. 

In 1301, there were at Bolton and the granges, no 
fewer than 713 horned cattle, of which 252 were 
oxen ; 2193 sheep, 95 pigs, and 91 goats. The number 
of horses is not mentioned. 

The prior was not a mere cloister monk, devoted to 
book and candle; but a jolly liver, gaily dressed, waited 
upon by well appointed servants, gentlemen retainers, 
huntsmen, and equerries, when he went out to enjoy 
himself in the forest chase. He kept his own pack of 
hounds, and took the field fully appointed. The Percys 
and. their friends were frequent visitors, and were right 
hospitably entertained at the priory, while daily hunt- 
ing through the forests of the Wharfe, up Littondale 
and Langstroth chase. During one of these visits, 
twenty-two extra quarters of wheat were consumed. 

Besides the canons and lay-brethren, there were the 
gentlemen retainers, about twenty in number, each of 



144 BOLTON PRIORY. 

whom had a slave to wait upoii him ; they had free 
board, lodging, and clothing ; they attended the prior 
on his journeys, and guarded the priory from attack. 
The free servants were numerous ; there was the 
master carpenter, master and under cook, brewer, 
baker, master smith, bellman, woodman, and sackman. 
Their wages averaged from 3s. to 10s. per annum. Of 
these, there were about twenty-six in the house, and 
about one hundred in the granges of the priory. 
Besides these, were the slaves of the establishment, 
of whom the prior had twenty set apart for his own 
service. Altogether, the number of persons in the 
priory could not be less than two hundred ; and the 
quantity of provisions they devoured was immense. 
In one year they consumed 319 quarters of wheat ; 
112 quarters of barley meal; 80 quarters of oatmeal, 
for pottage ; 80 quarters of barley, oats, and wheat, 
mixed ; 636 quarters of malted oats, of which they 
made their oaten ale ; and larger quantities of beer 
and wine. 

After existing more than four hundred years, under 
the rule of a succession of twenty priors, Richard 
Moon, the last prior with fourteen canons, surrendered 
the house on the 29th of January, 1540, the gross 
annual revenues being then but valued at £302. 9s. 3d, 
and the net at £212. 13s. 4d. For more than two 
years, the site and premises remained in the king's 
hands ; till, on the 3rd of April, 1542, they were 
granted to Henry Clifford, first earl of Cumberland, for 
the consideration of £2490. They continued in the 



BOLTON PRIORY. 145 

possession of that family till 1635, when Elizabeth, the 
daughter and sole heiress of Henry, the last earl of 
Cumberland, marrying Richard, the first earl of 
Burlington, carried the demesnes into that family, 
whose daughter Charlotte, sole heiress, married, in 
1748, the duke of Devonshire, in whose family the 
property still continues. 

The situation of the priory is so shut in by rising 
grounds, and embosomed in trees, that the visitor is 
not aware of the beauties awaiting his inspection, until 
he is almost on the spot. After leaving the bridge 
and public-house, we pass across the town field, a large 
pasture stretching to the river, where, tradition says, 
prince Rupert encamped, on his way to Marston Moor, 
in June, 1644. The scenery surrounding the priory 
is the most exquisite picture of natural beauty imagin- 
able. To the south all is soft and delicious : the eye 
reposes on a few rich pastures, a moderate reach of 
the river, — sufficiently tranquil to form a mirror to the 
sun, — and the bounding fells beyond, neither too near, 
nor too lofty, to exclude, even in winter, any consider- 
able portion of his rays. Opposite the magnificent 
east window of the priory church, the river washes a 
rock, nearly perpendicular, and of the richest purple ; 
where several of the mineral beds which break out, 
instead of maintaining their usual inclination to the 
horizon, are twisted, by some inconceivable process, 
into undulating and spiral lines. But all the glories 
of Bolton are on the north. Whatever the most 
fastidious taste could require to constitute a perfect 

L 



146 BOLTON PRIORY. 

landscape, is not only found here, but in its proper 
place. In front, and immediately under the eye, is a 
smooth expanse of park-like inclosure, spotted with 
native oak, elm, and ash ; on the right, a skirting 
wood ; on the left, a rising copse ; still forward, are 
seen the aged oaks of Bolton park — the growth of 
centuries ; and further yet, the barren and rocky 
distances of Simon's seat, and Bar den fell ; contrasted 
to the warmth, fertility, and luxuriant foliage of the 
valley below. 

What was formerly the gateway of the priory, has 
been enlarged, and made into a small, but elegant and 
comfortable mansion. It was an occasional place of 
retirement of the Cliffords ; and is yet, sometimes, in 
the shooting season, occupied by the duke of Devon- 
shire. It contains some curious pictures, chiefly family 
portraits. 

The shell of the priory church remains entire, and 
the nave is still used as a parochial chapel. It exhibits 
all the styles of architecture that prevailed from the 
period of its foundation to its dissolution, and some in 
a degree of excellence which has not often been sur- 
passed. The choir was evidently the first work of the 
canons, after, or probably before their translation ; and 
from thence the work proceeded westward, — a con- 
siderable time having elapsed, if we may judge from 
the progressive character which is exhibited before 
they brought it to a conclusion.'"' 

The first part of the structure which attacts the 

*A Summer's Day at Bolton Priory, — By J. R. Walburn, Esq. 



BOLTON PRIORY. 147 

notice of the visitor, is the tower at the west end of 
the church. In 1520, Richard Moon began this work, 
after a florid and ambitious design ; but the days of 
monachism were numbered, and the rude hands of 
Henry were laid upon him, ere the work had proceeded 
above the roof of the nave. The west front exhibits 
great ability of design. The arms of Clifford, and of 
the priory, are introduced in the spandrils of the door- 
way. The mouldings of the niches above, after mak- 
ing the heads, expand into embattled turrets. A frieze 
above, contains the following inscription, — 

" In the yer of our Lord MYCXX. R. s^. begaun 
this foundachion on qwho. sowl God have marce. 
Amen." 

On the first stage of the south-west buttress, stands 
a figure in a cap and gown reaching to his knees, hold- 
ing a short staff in his right hand, and a round shield 
under his left arm, a cross fiory being embossed on his 
breast. The west front of the great aisle of the nave 
exhibits a deeply recessed doorway, surmounted by 
three lancet lights, with banded shafts, and, as well as 
that of the north aisle, is enriched with a series of 
arcades. The south side of the nave is lighted by six 
lancet windows. The opposite side of the nave is 
divided from its aisle by one cylindrical column, placed 
between two of octagonal form. Above these, are 
four single, and plain lancet lights. The aisle of the 
nave has been renewed from the ground in the 
decorated period. The three windows, with tracery of 
exquisite design, are divided by three buttresses, — a 



148 BOLTON PRIORY. 

deeply moulded doorway being introduced towards the 
west end, surmounted by a trefoil-headed arch, enclosed 
in a triangular and crocketed canopy. At tlie end of 
this aisle, are eight large rough stones, about seven 
feet long, laid side by side, and raised about twenty 
inches above the level of the floor. These cover the 
vault of the Claphams of Beamsley, who, according to 
tradition, were interred there, upright. There are also 
three brass plates of the Morleys, who purchased the 
estate of the Claphams. The windows on the south 
have been recently filled with stained glass. 

The south transept is now totally razed, except the 
western wall, which retains two very beautiful decorated 
windows, and a doorway of like character, leading to 
the cloister, near which is a holy- water stoup. When 
this transept was cleared of rubbish, a curious sepul- 
chral memorial of gritstone was found, bearing a rude 
figure of an Augustinian monk, with his hands conjoined 
in the attitude of prayer, and this brief record, — 

Hie jacet d'n's Xpofer Wod quo'd'm. P'or. 

The south transept is perfect up to the square, 
except the eastern wall of the aisle, which is entirely 
demolished. The choir, with the exception of parts of 
the walls, is in the decorated style. Five lofty windows, 
of three lights, are divided on each side by buttresses 
of as many stages, which, judging from the only one, 
at the north-east angle, remaining, were terminated by 
crocketed pinnacles. In the great east window, a few 
fragments of tracery still cling to the arch. 



BOLTON PRIORY. 149 

In their usual position, on the south side, are the 
remains of four sediha, and a piscina of early English 
character, much mutilated. Near the north wall, is 
the corner of a blue marble slab, which is supposed to 
be a fragment of the tomb of John, lord Clifford, K.G., 
who was slain at Meaux, 10th Henry V., and who was 
brought home and interred at Bolton. Near to the 
fragment, is an arched recess in the wall, not quite 
nine inches deep, nine feet six inches in height and 
width, and flanked by two panelled shafts. It may, 
with much probability, be supposed to have originally 
been intended for a tomb, for the paschal play of the 
resurrection. Whittaker says, a skeleton was once 
found beneath the arch, and from part of a filleting of 
brass, with the letters Nevi, from which, he presumed 
it might belong to lady Margaret Neville, whose funeral 
took place in 1318. Here is also another large sepul- 
chral slab, much shattered, which has borne an elabo- 
rate memorial or ejffigy, in brass, with a circumscription. 
It probably covers one of the later priors, for the 
outline of a pastoral staff may apparently be traced on 
it. On the south side of the choir, were two chapels, 
which extended half its length, and were coeval with 
its original construction. That to the east has, un- 
doubtedly, been the resting place of the lords of 
Skipton and patrons of Bolton. Here, no doubt, the 
lady Romille was laid to rest ; but no memorial of her 
now remains. 

The total length of the church, within, is two 
hundred and thirty-four feet. The length of the nave, 



150 BOLTON PRIORY. 

eighty-eight feet six inches ; and of the transept, one 
hundred and twenty-one feet five inches. The width 
of the choir is forty-feet four inches ; and of the nave, 
forty-one feet three inches. 

The quadrangular court joined the south side of the 
nave of the church. On the west, was a range of 
lofty buildings ; the lower apartment being probably a 
store-house, and the upper the dormitory of the canons. 
Of the refectory on the south, only enough remains to 
show that it has been a spacious apartment, and, from 
its shallow buttresses, coeval with the translation of the 
building. The east side of the cloister court is formed 
by the transept of the church. 

The site of the chapter-house has been discovered 
only within recollection ; it has been torn down nearly 
to the foundation ; it has been an octagonal building, 
of about thirty feet in diameter, and twelve feet in 
each internal face. On the south side of the chapter 
house passage, are foundations, supposed to have been 
those of the prior's lodge. The cemetery of the abbey 
was on the north side of the church, and is still used, 
as it probably has been, since the foundation of the 
priory. 

A stroll through the woods, a glance at the Strid, 
and a word on Barden Tower, and we bid adieu to 
this delightful place. 

About half a mile above Bolton, the valley closes, 
and on either side the Wharfe is overhung by deep 
and solemn woods, from which huge perpendicular 
masses of gritstone jut out at intervals. Here a 



BOLTON PRIORY. 151 

tributary stream rushes from a waterfall, and bursts 
through a woody glen, to mingle its waters with the 
Wharfe. The Wharfe itself is nearly lost in a deep 
cleft of the rock, and next becomes a horned flood, 
enclosing a woody island ; sometimes it reposes for a 
moment, and then resumes its native character, — lively, 
irregular, impetuous. A little higher up the stream we 
reach the tremendous Strid ; a narrow chasm in the 
rocks, through which the river rushes with great fury. 
This chasm being incapable of receiving the winter 
floods, has formed on either side a broad strand of 
native gritstone, full of rock basins, or "pots of the 
lin,'' which bear witness to the restless impetuosity of 
so many northern torrents. The deep and solemn 
roar of the waters rushing through this narrow passage 
is heard above and beneath, amid the silence of the 
surrounding woods. The river boils and foams, raging 
and roaring like the angry spirit of the waters, in the 
narrow cleft of the rock, through which the current 
rushes with the most awful rapidity. 

Here it was that the boy of Egremond, ranging the 
woods of Barden with his hounds and huntsman, 
attempted to stride across the gulph, a dangerous step; 

" He sprang in glee, for what cared he, 

That the river was strong, and the rocks were steep ? 
But the greyhound in the leash hung back, 
And check'd him in his leap. 

The boy is in the arms of Wharf, 

And strangl'd by a merciless force ; 
For never more was young Romille seen, 

Till he rose a lifeless corse ! " 



15*2 BOLTON PRIORY. 

The fate of the boy of Egremond has not prevented 
the practice of striding from brink to brink, regardless 
of the consequences that await a false step. The 
width is only four feet five inches, but few can look 
down into the awful gulph without a shudder of horror.* 

* Though it seems impossible for any human being to pass through the 
waters of the Strid with life, yet Dr. Whitaker has recorded an instance in 
which two persons fell into the torrent and escaped unhurt. Hist. Craven, 
note p. 199. " A few years since, a party of ladies and gentlemen were 
crossing, when a lady, seized with a sudden apprehension, was unable to 
extend her foot to the opposite brink, and fell with her partner into the 
fissure; a single moment was passing, and their friends awaking to re- 
collected horror ; when, happy to say, they were instantly ejected upon the 
shallow strand which succeeds the rock ; when recovering from their fright, 
they had received no other injury than that done to their clothes." 

A more tragic fate was that of Miss Poole, the only daughter of a solicitor, 
in Gray's Inn, London ; who, on the 30th April, 1828, with her friends, paid 
a visit to the woods of Bolton. After a walk of two miles in the woods, they 
took a little refreshment, in what is called the Moss House, and then went 
to visit the noted Strid. Miss Poole, at the persuasion of her friends, ap- 
proached the edge of the rock which overhangs the awful vortex — gazed — 
became dizzy — exclaimed, " I'm going ! " — and at once sank into the terrible 
flood. The scene was indescribable ; an involuntary and thrilling shriek was 
heard from each of the females. A Mr. Dean, one of the party, rushed to 
the spot — stepped upon the rock, and was fortunate enough to catch hold of 
her bonnet. But, oh ! fallacious hope ! the strings broke, and she instantly 
disappeared under the rocks. 



153 



§ar!trtiT Cnker. 



Few visitors of Bolton will leave this delightful 
valley without paying a visit to Barden Tower, deeply 
shrouded in ancient woods, and backed in the distance 
by the purple fells. " It is indeed but a plain Tudor 
house, enlarged, or rebuilt by Henry Clifford, the 
shepherd lord, from one of the lodges, by which the 
ancient chace of Barden was protected; but the scenery 
around it is exquisitely beautiful ; the air of primeval 
simplicity so pure and refreshing — and the profound 
seclusion and tranquility so congenial to the sympathies 
of the imagination and of the heart, that it needed 
neither the association of the virtues or the fame of 
its founder, nor the lays of him by whom they have 
been sung so worthily and so well, to invest its crumb- 
ling walls with another, and indestructible enchant- 
ment." The retired habits of Henry, lord Clifford, 
leading him to prefer the retreat of Barden to the 
bustle of his more extensive mansions, he fitted up this 
lodge for the reception of himself and a modest train 
of servants, and spent here a considerable portion of a 
comparatively innocent and peaceful hfe. The circum- 
scribed limits of his residence and suit show that he 
had learned to despise all worldly pomp and greatness, 
ajnd to be satisfied with a very moderate establishment ; 



154 BARDEN TOWER. 

for the dates of all his charters testify that, when in 
Yorkshire, he invariably made his abode here. At the 
period when lie first came to Barden Tower, he was 
almost if not wholly illiterate ; he having been con- 
cealed in the fells of Cmiiberland for twenty-five years, 
where he had practised the habits and manners of a 
shepherd. He was, however, possessed of a good 
natural understanding, and of considerable ingenuity ; 
and his early training having led him to observe the 
motions of the heavenly bodies, with the aid of the 
canons of Bolton, he was enabled here more perfectly 
to pursue his favourite studies, and to make consider- 
able progress in the sciences of alchemy and astronomy. 

In such peaceful and retired employments the 
shepherd lord passed the whole reign of Henry VII., 
and the first years of his son, Henry VIII. ; but, in the 
year 1513, when sixty years of age, he was appointed a 
principal in command over the army which fought at 
Flodden ; and he there proved that the military ardour 
and genius of the family were not extinct, nor had 
been chilled and extinguished by his long and early 
habits of peace. He survived the battle of Flodden 
ten years, and died April 23rd, 1523, aged about 
seventy years. 

His son, a very different character, occasionally 
resided here ; and until the later days of the third earl 
of Cumberland, it seems never to have been wholly 
neglected by the family. From the inventory taken in 
1572, after the death of the second earl, it appears that 
the hall and kitchen here were furnished, but the bed 



BARDEN TOWER. 155 

rooms empty. From this circumstance, it may be con- 
cluded that the family, at that time, resorted hither 
for the pleasures of the chace, dined at the tower, and 
returned to Skipton in the eyening. 

When lady Ann Clifford, countess of Pembroke, 
succeeded to her inheritance, this place had become a 
ruin, which she repaired, in 1659, at an expense of 
£100, as may be seen by the following inscription, 
which still remains over the principle entrance : 

" This Bar den Tower was repay r'd by the ladie Anne 
Clifford, Countess Dowager of Pembroke Dorsett & 
Montgomery Baronesse Clifford Westmorland & Vescie 
Lady of the Honor of Skipton in Craven, and Sheriff- 
esse by inheritance of the countie of Westmorland 
in the yeares 1658 and 1659, after it had layne 
ruinous ever since about 1589 when her mother then 
lay in itt & was great with her till nowe that it was 
repayr'd by the sayd Lady. Isa. Chap. 58. Ver. 12. 
God's name be praised.'^ 

In 1676, this tower was occasionally the residence 
of the Burlington family ; and the last of that family 
who resided here was Juliana, countess dowager of 
Burlington. 

In 1774, it was entire. The lead and timber of the 
roof have since been taken away ; and it has now put 
on that picturesque form which only dilapidated build- 
ings have the privilege of assuming. The shell of 
the building yet remains tolerably perfect, and the 
disposition of the apartments may be traced ; but, 
from the plain character of its style, it is a fitter 



156 BARDEN TOWER. 

study for the painter, than the architect or the 
antiquary. 

The chapel, a detached tower-hke building to the 
south of the house, was apparently built by the shep- 
herd lord, and is still used for public worship, being 
served by the minister of Bolton. It was repaired at 
the same time as the tower, by the lady Pembroke. A 
gallery at the west end, supported by the remains of a 
perpendicular screen, was reserved for the use of the 
family ; who must have entered from the farm-house, 
which is now, and no doubt then was contiguous. 
The tenants show a halbert, which was formerly kept, 
with many more, in the tower ; and a military drum, 
with the arms and supporters of the Darcies, of Hornby ; 
but both of them, we are told, belonged to lady 
Pembroke. 



157 



kiptnn Castk. 



Skipton is a place renowned in history ; and its 
castle, with the noble families inhabiting it, have shed 
over Craven the venerable lustre of antiquity. At the 
time of the conquest, Skipton formed part of the pos- 
sessions of earl Edwin, one of the Saxon nobles. It 
was afterwards granted to Robert de Romille, one of 
the followers of the conqueror, who built Skipton castle 
as the seat of his barony, about the end of the reign 
of that monarch. The erection of this baronial resi- 
dence elevated Skipton from a village to a town ; but 
it never had a municipal government, nor was it ever 
represented in parliament. Subsequently, the barony 
came, by marriage, into the Albermarle family ; after- 
wards it became vested in the crown. Edward II. 
bestowed this valuable inheritance on his ill-fated 
favourite, Piers Gaveston, who became so obnoxious, by 
his pride and insolence, to the ancient barons, that they 
rose in rebellion against his royal master, captured 
the favourite in the castle of Scarborough, and after- 
wards beheaded him without any trial. The next 
alienation transferred it, in the year 1311, to a family, 
who, with the exception of a single attainder, have 
held it for five hundred years ; during the larger part 
of which time, they resided at Skipton castle, in great 



158 SKIPTON CASTLE. 

wealth and honour. The grant was made to Robert 
lord Clifford, by Edward II., in the fourth year of his 
reign ; at which time, the annual rent of arable land 
in Craven was tenpence, and pasture land, four pence 
per acre.'" 

This Robert, first lord of Skipton of the Cliffords, 
was employed by the king, on all occasions of the 
highest trust, — led an active life, and died an honour- 
able death ; for he was slain at the battle of Bannock- 
burn, June 25th, 1314. Roger, second lord Clifford 
of Skipton, joined the earl of Lancaster's insurrection 
against Edward II. ; was severely wounded and taken 
prisoner, at the battle of Boroughbridge, March 16th, 
1322, and sentenced to death, along with Lancaster 
and the other lords, whom the issue of that day had 
made traitors, " so that all the lands were seized into 
the king's hands as forfeited ; but by reason of his 
great wounds, being held a dying man, the execution 
was respited for that time, and after the heat of the 
fray was over, his life was spared by the said king, so 
as he died a natural death, in the first year of king 
Edward III. He died childless and unmarried.'' f 
Robert de Clifford, his brother and heir, regained his 

*At that period, matrimony was subject to a singular toll in the forest of 
Skipton ; for, as appears from a MS., preserved in the castle, it was ordained, 
" that ev'ry bryde cumyng that waye shulde eyther gyve her left shoo or 
Ills. IVd. to the forester of Crookryse, by way of custome or gaytcloys." 

f Such is the statement of Sir Matthew Hale, who was employed by the 
Lady Ann Clifford, to make a digest of the family records. The generality 
of historians represent him to have been hanged at York, and his body hung 
in chains, along with the lords Mowbray and Deynville. 



SKIPTON CASTLE. 159 

lands, by the general act of restitution of all the earl 
of Lancaster's party, passed in the parliament, 4th 
Edward III. Nothing very remarkable is mentioned 
concerning him, nor of his two immediate successors, 
Robert and Roger, of whom the former died young and 
childless. The latter was engaged in the French and 
Scottish wars of Edward III. ; but of his exploits no 
record remains. 

Thomas, the sixth lord, lived not much more than two 
years after his father's death. He died beyond seas. 
His daughter, Maud, was second wife to that Richard, 
earl of Cambridge, who suffered the penalty of treason, 
in the reign of Henry V. His daughter, Elizabeth, 
was married, as Dodsworth says, " at six yeares olde 
being carried to the chappel in Skipton castell, in the 
arms of John Garthe, to Robert, son of Sir William 
Plumpton ; he dying, shee was, at XII yeares of age, 
mar'd to Wm. the bro. of Robt. Sir William Plumpton 
promising that they shold not ligg together till she 
was XYI yeares old, and at XYIII, she was mother of 
Margaret Rawcliffe." His son John was a soldier, and 
by indenture, dated Feb. 8, 1417, Henry V. retained 
him in his service for the war in France, for one year. 
The contract was to this effect ; that this lord, with 
fifty men at arms, well accoutred, whereof three to be 
knights, the rest esquires, and one hundred and fifty 
archers ; whereof two parts to serve on horseback, the 
third on foot, should serve the king from the day he 
should be ready to set sail for France, taking for 
himself four shiUings for every knight ; for every 



160 SKIPTON CASTLE. 

esquire one shilling ; for every archer sixpence per 
diem. This John Clifford fell at the siege of Meaux, 
in the last year of Henry Y., and was buried in Bolton 
Priory. 

The Cliffords were amongst the first noble families 
in the kingdom who engaged in the memorable civil 
wars between the houses of York and Lancaster. They 
were zealous Lancastrians, and Thomas, the next lord 
Clifford, was slain at the battle of St. Al ban's. May 
22nd, 1454 ; when the Yorkists were triumphant, and 
left 5000 of their enemies stretched on the battle 
field. The events of this fatal day are supposed to 
have imparted a degree of ferocity to the character of 
his son and successor, John, lord Clifford, who has been 
recorded as the most merciless of a merciless time. 
This young nobleman had been engaged in the civil 
wars from his earliest manhood, and fought at the 
battle of Wakefield, December 24th, 1460; when the 
red rose of Lancaster again bloomed forth. On that 
memorable day, the duke of York himself was killed, 
with nearly 3000 of his followers ; and his son, the 
earl of Eutland, a youth of seventeen, being brought 
into the preseuce of lord Clifford, was murdered in 
cold blood, by the savage hands of the vindictive peer. 
ISTor was this his only barbarity ; his revenge for the 
death of his father impelled him to other excesses ; 
and Leland says, "that for slaughter of men at 
Wakefield, he was called the boucher." It was to his 
tent, that king Henry, when taken captive at the 
second battle of St. Albans by the party which had 



SKIPTON CASTLE. 161 

used his name, was brought to meet his victorious 
queen ; and there he knighted his son, young Edward, 
then a boy of eight years. Seldom has a prince so 
meek been entertained by a subject so ferocious. 

On the approach of the last decisive battle between 
the rival houses, his lordship advanced to Ferrybridge, 
with the flower of Craven under his command. After 
forcing the passage of the Aire, and been beaten thence 
in his turn, he retreated towards Tadcaster. Having 
put off" his gorget, he was struck in the throat by a 
headless arrow, and so was sent to his own place, 
wherever that might be. This happened at Dintondale, 
between Scarthingwell and Towton. Edward triumphed 
in the following fight, and the hopes of the Lancas- 
trians were extinguished in the crimsoned streams of 
the Wharfe. Lord Clifford, though dead, was attainted, 
and his estates forfeited in the 1st of Edward IV. 
The castle, manor, and lordship of Skipton, were 
granted to Sir James Stanley ; and afterwards, in the 
10th of Edward IV., to Richard, duke of Gloucester, 
according to the terms of the grant, — " for the en- 
couragement of piety and fortitude in the said duke," 
who retained them till his death. In the first year of 
Henry VII., the attainder of lord John was revei-sed, 
together with those of all the adherents of the house 
of Lancaster ; and the estates of the family were re- 
stored to lord Henry Clifford, son of lord John, sur- 
named the Shepherd, in 1485. For five-and-twenty 
years the young lord had been immured amongst the 
fells of Cumberland, and his manners and education 

M 



162 SKIPTON CASTLE. 

were those of a peasant. Conscious of his defects, and 
attached to sohtude, he spent a large portion of the 
remainder of his days at Barden, where he studied 
astronomy and alchemy. At the age of sixty, he 
emerged from his retirement, and was appointed by the 
king to a command in the English army, at the battle 
of Flodden field ; where the king of Scotland, and the 
flower of his nobility, sunk under the prowess of the 
English arms. Lord Clifford suryived the battle of 
Flodden ten years, and died on the 23rd of April, 
1523, aged about seyenty. He was succeeded by 
Henry, his son, who was then about thirty years of 
age, and who had passed his youth among a band of 
dissolute followers as an outlaw, raising contributions, 
to supply their extravagances, from the religious houses 
and the peaceful husbandmen. Young Clifford was a 
fayourite with Henry YHI. ; and two years after his 
accession to the family inheritance, he was created earl 
of Cumberland. The great gallery in Skipton castle 
was built by this earl ; and the fortress itself was 
besieged by the followers of Aske, in the Pilgrimage of 
Grace, and brayely defended by the earl, who beat off 
the assailants, in spite of treachery among his own 
followers. He married lady Margaret Percy, when the 
whole of the Percy fee, equiyalent, in extent, to half of 
Crayen, became yested in the Cliffords. He died, 
April 22nd, 1542, aged forty-nine years. At his 
death, an inquisition was taken to ascertain the yalue 
of his yast estates, which were found to amount to 
£1719. 7s. 8d. per annum. Henry, his son, the second 



SKIPTON CASTLE. l(Jo 

earl of Cumberland, succeeded his father ; and little 
more is recorded of him, but that he died at Brougham 
castle, in Westmorland, and was buried at Skipton. 

George, the third earl of Cumberland, was born at 
Brougham, on the 8th of August, 1558, and succeeded 
to the title and estates when he was eleven years and 
five months old. He married lady Margaret Russell, 
third daughter of Francis, duke of Bedford ; by whom 
he had two sons, who died young, and a daughter, lady 
Ann CHfFord. This earl was a great navigator ; and, 
in the memorable year of the Armada, he commanded 
the Elizabeth Bonaventura, and highly distinguished 
himself in the action fought off Calais. He died in the 
meridian of life, " of a bloody flux, caused, as was 
supposed, by the wounds and distempers he received 
formerly, in his sea voyages." Dr. Whitaker says, 
" he was an indiiferent and unfaithful husband, and a 
negligent and thoughtless parent ; he set out with a 
larger estate than any of his ancestors, and in little 
more than twenty years, he had made it one of the 
least. Fortunately, for his family, a constitution, 
originally vigorous, gave way at forty-seven, to hard- 
ships, anxiety, wounds, and probably licentiousness." '" 

Lady Ann inherited the principal estates ; but the 
titles, on the death of earl George, devolved upon Sir 
Thomas Clifford. 

Lady Ann married, first, Richard Sackville, earl of 
Dorset ; and after his death, the earl of Pembroke and 
Montgomery, whom she also survived. On the death 

* History of Craven. 



164 SKIPTON CASrLE. 

of the last of the earls of Cumberland, without issue, 
in 1643, all the lands belonging to the family reverted 
to the countess of Pembroke. During the civil war 
between Charles I. and the parliament, Skipton castle 
was garrisoned for the king, when it sustained a siege, 
or rather blockade of three years, against the parlia- 
mentary forces, commanded by generals Poyntz and 
Rossiter ; the earl of Cumberland, its owner, being 
then lord lieutenant of the West Riding, and Sir John 
Mallory, of Studley, an old and faithful loyalist, the 
governor. It was surrendered on the 22nd of Decem- 
ber, 1645. It was, however, again seized by the 
cavaliers, during the duke of Hamilton's expedition into 
England, in 1648. It was soon afterwards retaken by 
general Lambert. In 1649, it was ordered, by par- 
liament, to be dismantled, which was shortly afterwards 
carried into effect. From its situation, it has never 
been well adapted for defence, as it was commanded 
by two heights, within cannon shot. 

The countess of Pembroke was an ornament to her 
age and country. The demise of the earl, January 
23rd, 1649, left her free and uncontrolled mistress of 
the ancient fees and estates which had legally been 
hers since 1643. But her property was in the most 
dilapidated condition; — six of her castles,— Brough, 
Brougham, Pendragon, Appleby, Barden, and Skipton, 
were wholly or partially in ruins. Skipton, her birth 
place, after changing hands twice, and undergoing two 
sieges, had been dismantled by command of the 
parliament ; its roofs broken in ; the lead and timber 



SKIPTON CASTLE. 165 

sold; and the venerable tapestry, the antique furniture, 
and embossed plate, destroyed or scattered ; — her parks, 
her farms, her woods, and her tenants, all melancholy 
witnesses to the miseries of civil discord. She immedi- 
ately set about restoring her affairs, and repairing her 
ruined houses. Almost immediately upon her widow- 
hood she repaired to Skipton, which she found scarred 
and riddled with shot, and little more than the bare 
roofless walls remaining. But the long gallery, built 
in the days of the first earl, was still entire ; and here 
she spent some days, making her bed-room the octagon 
chamber. In 1657 and 8, she restored the buildings 
of the castle, and made it inhabitable. Shortly before 
the restoration, the existing powers insulted her, by 
placing a garrison in her renovated mansion of Skipton ; 
yet this did not prevent her from going there early in 
1658, and passing some weeks among the uninvited 
guests. This most worthy lady died the 22nd of 
March, 1675, aged eighty-seven years. The lady 
Margaret Sackville, her first daughter and co-heiress, 
by Richard, earl of Dorset, married John Tufton, earl 
of Thanet, on the 21st of April, 1629 ; and the manor 
and castle of Skipton descended, on the death of the 
countess of Pembroke, to that noble family, in which it 
yet continues ; Sir Richard Tufton being the present 
owner. 

Skipton castle stands close to the church, on an 
eminence at the north end of the town. The entrance 
into the court is through a lofty archway, in a square 
tower, between two round towers. Above the entrance, 



166 SKIPTON CASTLE. 

in large stone letters, forming a battlement, is the 
motto of the Cliffords, " DESORMAIS." After passing 
this gateway, the majestic front of the castle, with its 
round and octagonal towers, rises before us. It has 
been recently repaired, and yet presents the aspect of 
a noble mansion, not unworthy of the noble line by 
which it was so long inhabited. Of the castle, as built 
at the period of the conquest, little remains, except 
the western doorway to the inner castle, consisting of 
a semicircular arch, resting upon square piers. The 
most ancient part of the fabric now visible, consists of 
five round towers, partly in the sides, and partly in the 
angles of the building, connected by rectilinear apart- 
ments, which form an irregular quadrangular court 
within. The walls are from nine to twelve feet thick. 
This part was the work of Robert de Clifford, in the 
early part of the reign of Edward II. The eastern 
part, a single range of buildings at least sixty yards 
long, with two octangular towers in the side, and 
terminated by another of larger dimensions, was built 
by the first earl of Cumberland, in the short space of 
four or five months, for the reception of "the lady 
Eleanor Brandon's grace,'' who had married his son, in 
the 27th of Henry VIII. This part remains nearly in 
its original condition, as the wainscot carved with 
fluted pannels, and even some of the ancient furniture, 
seem to prove. The present entrance, concealing the 
original Norman doorway, was added by lady Pem- 
broke, who repaired the castle, as appears from the 
following inscription, cut in stone over the door: 



SKIPTON CASTLE. 167 

" This Skipton Castle was repayr'd by the ladie Anne 
CKfford, Countesse Dowager of Pembrookee, Dorsett & 
Montgomerie, Baronesse CKfFord, Westmorland and 
Vescie, Lady of the Honor of Skipton in Craven, & 
Sheriffesse by inheritance of the Countie of Westmor- 
land, in the yeares 1657 & 1658. After this maine 
part of itt had laine ruinous ever since December, 
1648, and the January following, when it was then 
pulled down and demolished, almost to the foundation, 
by the Command of the Parliament then sitting at 
Westminster, because itt had bin a garrison in the then 
civille warres in England. Isaiah Chap. 58. ver. 12, 
God's name be praised." 

The entrance added by lady Pembroke is the only 
part of the castle which exhibits signs of weakness ; as 
the old rounders of imperishable stone and cement, 
which last even hardens with ^me, contain in them- 
selves no more principle of decay than the rock on 
which they stand ; and the additional building of 
Henry the Eighth's time bears no external mark of 
the precipitance with which it is said to have been 
built. 

Within, however, the scene is different, neglect and 
decay being everywhere apparent. In the second great 
rounder from the entrance, is the muniment room of 
the Cliffords, in which the treasures, and the writings 
anciently were kept. The apartments formed out of 
the gallery contain several portraits in a perishing 
state, particularly the great historical family picture, 
painted and inscribed under the direction of the 



168 SKIPTON CASTLE. 

countess of Pembroke. It is composed of three parts, 
a centre and wings ; tlie latter serving as doors. In 
the centre compartment, is George Clifford, earl of 
Cumberland ; and on his right hand, is Margaret 
Russell, his countess, holding in her left hand the 
psalms of Dayid ; on her right hand, stands her eldest 
son Francis, and on his right, her other son Robert ; 
nearly over the head of the countess, is a half length, 
eight inches and three quarters high, and seven inches 
and a half broad, of Elizabeth, countess of Bath, eldest 
sister of the countess of Cumberland. On the left, at 
a little distance from it, in the same line, almost on the 
left side of the picture as it is viewed, is another of the 
same size, of Frances, lady Wharton, sister to the earl 
of Cumberland ; and below, is one rather larger, 
of Margaret, countess of Derby, eldest child of Henry, 
second earl of Cumberland, by his first lady. The 
doors exhibit portraits of their celebrated daughter, 
Ann Clifford ; one compartment represents her at the 
age of about thirteen ; the other, in a state of widow- 
hood, dressed in black, with a veil ; over the latter 
portrait are the heads of her two husbands, Richard, 
earl of Dorset, and Philip, earl of Pembroke. Here is 
also a head of Sir Ingram Clifford ; another, called 
Fair Rosamond; and a half length picture, conjectured 
by Dr. Whitaker to be intended to represent lady 
Eleanor Brandon. 

In the inner court yard of the castle is a very large 
yew tree, said to be 500 years old, and to have been 
first planted there on the birth of one of the Cliffords. 



SKIPTON CASTLE. 169 

The view of the country from the front of the castle 
is beautiful, being finely variegated v^ith hills and 
valleys, uncultivated mountains, and fruitful fields. 
Right in front, at the distance of about half a mile, is 
Cock-hill, now ornamented with a clump of firs ; where 
tradition says, the batteries were fixed against the 
castle, during the siege in 1645 and following years. 
Near the second octagonal tower, on the wall, are many 
dinted depressions in the stones, which are said to have 
been made by musket balls at the same time. The 
octagonal tower at the corner, now covered with ivy, 
bears marks of cannon shot. Fragments of the moat 
which has encircled the castle yet remain, a part on 
the south side being now a garden. The walk on the 
outside is yet called " the Bailey walk.^^ On the 
northern side, the fortress has been defended by a deep 
ravine, the sides clothed with trees and brushwood. At 
the bottom is now a canal, from which is a railway to 
the noted limestone quarry, called "Skipton rock." 
This castle is a highly interesting place, what from the 
renown of the family to which it formerly belonged, 
and the complete state in which it presents us with 
one of the feudal halls of our ancient nobility. 



170 



The ruins of this abbey are situated on the banks of 
the Ribble, near the western boundary of Yorkshire, 
in a warm and fertile situation, close to the village of 
the same name, and about three miles distant from the 
town of Clithero, in Lancashire. It was founded in 
the year 1147, by William de Percy, for monks of the 
Cistercian order. On the first of January, in the same 
year, abbot Benedict, with twelve monks, and ten 
conversi or lay brethren, set out from the parent abbey 
of Fountains to take possession of the site of their new 
home ; and on the seventh of the same month, being the 
first day of the new moon, the monastery was founded. 
William de Percy endowed it with lands in Sawley or 
Salley, Dudeland, and Elwinsthorpe, besides one caru- 
cate of land in Rimington ; and by a second charter, 
he confirmed the same, adding thereto Crocum and 
Stainton. A church and other conventual buildings 
were erected, but the establishment did not prosper ; 
the climate was cold and rainy, and the lands 
wild, uncultivated, and barren. So that after a 
lapse of forty years, it was resolved either to break 
up or remove the establishment to some other place ; 



SAWLEY ABBEY. 171 

when Matilda de Percy set forth, in a charter, "^^ 
which she granted to this house, — that the monastery 
having stood above forty years in the place where 
it was founded, and being reduced to extreme 
want, through the ill temperature of the air, 
which suffered nothing to thrive upon the ground, it 
had been resolved either to remove or destroy it ; 
wherefore to prevent its ruin, and that her father's 
charity might not be lost, she gave to the monks the 
church of Tadcaster, with the chapel of Haslewood, an 
annual pension from the church of Newton, and one 
carucate of land at Catton, This, her grant, was con- 
firmed by Agnes, her sister ; who, by another deed, 
gave to the monks two plough lands at Litton, and 
liberty of grazing six hundred sheep at the same place. 
In 1813, Henry de Percy gave to the monks of Sawley 
the church of Gargrave, with " all appurtenances, 
entireties, pensions religious or secular, in what 
manner soever due/' The petition from king Edward 
II. to the pope, for the confirmation of this gift, states 
it to be " the faithful relation of the monastery of 
Salley, in Craven, in England, in the diocese of York, 
founded and situate as it were in the most castaway 
and remote parts of all our kingdom, towards the Irish 
sea ; and, moreover, in a country wonderfully hiUy ; 
and on account of the too great frequency of storms, 
for the most part barren and unfruitful, from many 

* This charter, with those of the founder, and many others relating to 
this house, may be seen in Dugdale's Monasticon ; translations or abstracts 
of them are given in Harland's " Salley Abbey." 



172 SAWLEY ABBEY. 

causes, and from various unfortunate events, — but 
chiefly on account of the cruel and inhuman spoHa- 
tion of all their moveables, and the horrible burning of 
some of their places, which the evil-disposed army of 
the Scots, when scattered over the whole of that 
district, in our absence, lately effected ; — ^the convent 
has been reduced to such utter poverty and want, 
beyond all their means of extricating themselves from 
difficulty, and drawing their daily breath without hope, 
so that they are neither adequate to their own existence, 
as religious men ought' to be, nor to provide for the 
conflux to them of poor strangers, and for the charitable 
administration of hospitality, unless some speedy assist- 
ance should be rendered to them/' The church of 
Gargrave was, in consequence, confirmed to the monks 
by William, archbishop of York, March 17th, 1321. 

The family of Percy were otherwise great bene- 
factors to the abbey ; two of whom, William de Percy, 
(not the founder,) and his eldest son Henry, were 
buried here. 

In the 26th Henry HI, 1241, the abbot of Sawley 
had a grant of the manor of Gisburn in Craven. In 
the 45th of the same reign, the monks of Sawley had 
a grant of a market and fair in the manor of Gisburn. 
In the 54th of the same reign, the abbot had a 
grant of free warren " in Sally, Hautgrange, Gisle- 
burn, Elwynthorpe, Fulden, Stay nt on, Langcliffe, and 
Boulton.^' 

In return for charitable assistance made by him, 
the abbot and convent, during the rule of abbot John, 



SAWLEY ABBEY. 173 

(1371 to 1380,) granted to John Dautre, his progeni- 
tors and kindred, their prayers unto the end of the 
world. "Being excited by these pressings stings of 
charity, we have with unanimous consent, of our own 
will, gratis, and of our free motion, granted to the 
aforesaid John to partake of all the good works which 
the goodness of our Saviour shall vouchsafe to perform 
by us, or the monks of the said house, to the end of 
the world." Such is the language of the grant ; a 
pardonable error in those w^ho considered themselves 
the only true and everlasting church, with an eternity 
of existence here and hereafter. Little did they dream 
then of 

" the shock that hurl'd 
To dust, in many fragments dash'd and strown, 
The throne, whose roots were in another world, 
And whose far stretching shadow awed our own." 

Many an acre of fruitful land did the monks receive 
for a fruitless mass ; and many a valuable gift was 
bestowed upon the convent for the right of sepulture 
within its walls. We subjoin two instances from the 
records of this house. 

" Sir Angeus, upon the holy altar of God and the 
blessed Mary of Salley, has given &c. half a carucate 
of land in Orton, held of William earl of Warwick, on 
this condition, 'that whenever, God inspiring me, I 
may wish to relinquish secularity, they shall receive 
me at my option, as a monk or a convert ; and when 
I die, they shall do for me as much as for a monk. 
Witness : Maugre, parson of Giseburne.' " 



174 SAWLEY ABBEY. 

" Robert Coe quit-claims Crocum, the monks of 
Sallej granting me the full benefit of their house for 
ever; and to the end that if I wish, I may have burial 
amongst them, and they may do service for my soul 
as for a brother in all things/''* 

From a very curious compotus of this house, in 1381, 
given in Dr. Whitaker's Craven, it appears that the 
receipts at that time were £347. 14s. 7^d. and the 
expenditure £355. 13s. lOJd. The tithes of the parish 
of Gargrave, one of the warmest and most fertile in 
Craven, containing 10,420 statute acres, yielded them 
the net sum of £52. 7s, 8d. The prices of corn per 
quarter, at that time were, wheat, 6s. 8d., barley, 4s., 
beans, rather more than 4s., and oats 2s. Wool at that 
time was 2s. per stone. The yearly consumption of 
corn in bread by the establishment was 155 quarters ; 
that of oats for the horses, 139 quarters. The same 
account seems to show that the monks of Sawley 
yearly brewed into ale 255 quarters of malted oats 
and barley ; which, assuming the number of inmates 
at seventy, and the number of gallons brewed from 
every quarter at sixty, would give nearly 300 gallons 
to each individual annually ; which is certainly a very 
large quantity. 

The value of a cow's milk, in Craven, for a year, at 
that time, was Is. ; as Thomas Boulton, bailiff, of 
Elwinthorpe, received, for the milk of twenty-four 
cows, 24s. To poor persons and mendicants was given, 
during the year, the startling sum, considering the 

* Whitaker's Craven. 



SAWLEY ABBEY. 175 

boasted charity of monastic establishments, of 5s. 8d., 
or less than one thousandth part of the abbey's 
income. The servants were about forty-five in number, 
and their annual wages amounted to £28. 4s. 4d. 
Some of them, as the poultry keeper, received only 2s. 
a year ; and one, William Brogden, the prior's chamber- 
Iain, £6. Henry Tatersall, the convent cook, had 
14s. 8d. ; Thomas Kar, a tailor, 10s. ; W. Alan, 
forester of High Grange, 10s. ; the forester of Swan- 
syde, lis. 8d. yearly. The monks kept about 35 
horses, probably 30 milch cows, and apparently about 
70 cattle. Yet the revenues at the dissolution were 
only returned at £221. 15s. 8d. gross, and the clear 
amount at £147. 3s. lOd. ; by which means it fell into 
the category of the smaller religious houses. After a 
succession of about twenty-three abbots, and an exist- 
ence of three hundred years, it yielded to the spoiler. 
The last abbot was William Trafford, who took part in 
the monkish insurrection, called the Pilgrimage of 
Grace, in the year 1536 ; for which he was tried at 
the Lancaster spring assizes of 1537, and was hanged 
at Lancaster, March ] 0th, of the same year. 

The site and demesnes of the abbey, together with 
all manors, messuages, &c., thereunto belonging, were 
granted by Henry VIIL, in the thirtieth year of his 
reign, to Sir Arthur Darcy, knight, to be held in capite 
by knight's service. 

The best and most complete record of the posses- 
sions of this abbey, from its foundation to the time of 
its dissolution, is to be found in an old latin record 



176 SAWLEY ABBEY. 

kept by the monks themselves, and which, after the 
dissolution, passed into the hands of those to whom 
Henry VIII. granted the abbey demesnes, and other 
estates. It is now in the British Museum, and is thus 
described in Dugdale's Monasticon, — " The Register of 
Salley Abbey is a quarto volume, of 198 leaves on 
vellum." From this record, it appears that the monks 
were possessed of land and privileges in thirty-eight 
different parishes or places ; of which about six are in 
Lancashire and the others in Yorkshire. At the 
beginning of the volume, are the names of Arthur and 
Thomas Darcy, to whom the site of the abbey belonged 
subsequently to the dissolution ; and on the lower part 
of the first leaf, is written, — ' Thys booke aperteinethe 
to Arthur Darcy, Knyght, of Salley. Whosoever finds 
ytt he shall have Xs. so he bryng ytt agayn to hym, 
and God's blessyn.' " 

By an inquisition taken in the 3rd Elizabeth, the 
manor of Langcliffe, as parcel of the passessions of 
Salley abbey, was found to be held by Henry, son of 
Arthur Darcy, the first grantee after the dissolution ; 
and that he also held, inter alia, the site of the dis- 
solved monastery of Salley, with all its demesnes, 
lands, &c., all of the Queen in capite, by knights' 
service. In the 15th James I. Sis James Hay, knight, 
being seized of that manor, was created by the king 
baron of Salley ; he was a vain and profane man, better 
remembered by the title of earl of Carlisle. He died 
in 1636, leaving a son, James, whose only daughter 
and heiress, Margaret, married Robert, earl of Warwick, 



SAWLEY ABBEY. 177 

and received the rents and profits of this estate in 1662. 
How it passed from this lady, or her husband, to the 
Weddell family, does not appear ; but they were its 
next possessors ; and on the death of the late WiUiam 
Weddell, Esq., the manor and estates of Sawley devolved 
upon lord Grantham, now earl de Grey, the present 
owner. "^^ 

Approaching the site of the abbey on the Yorkshire 
side, crossing the Eibble, by the bridge at the village of 
Sawley, not a hundred yards along the high road past 
the village Inn, brings the visitor to two gatewaj^s, 
about ten yards from each other, which may at some 
time have given entrance to the precincts of the abbey. 
They fell down a few years ago, and have since been 
rebuilt ; they have probably been erected at first from 
the ruins of some former building, as various carved 
stones have been built into them, without any order or 
obvious design. On the outer face of the first gate- 
way, over the arch, is an inscription in black letter, 
now illegible. On the left pier of the arch, on the 
same face, is a slab, with trefoil head, and apparently 
another inscription, also illegible. Another stone bears 
on a shield in bold relief, the lion rampant of the 
Percies, founders, and great benefactors of the abbey. 
There are other shields carved on stones, included in 
the wall, bearing the arms of Vavasour, Tempest, and 
Hammer ton. The chief ornament of the inner gateway 
is the fragment of a stone statue of the virgin, with the 
infant Jesus on her left arm, within a canopied niche. 

* Hari.axd's Salley Abbey, p. 49. 
N 



178 SAWLEY ABBEY. 

On a filleting at the feet of the figure is inscribed, in 
old black letter, 

There is much grace and spirit in these mutilated 
remains, though both figures are now headless, and the 
right arms of both mother and child are gone ; enough 
is however yet left to attract the attention of the artist 
and sculptor, no less than the antiquary. This relic 
was found some years ago, built into the foundations 
of a corn mill, at the end of a row of houses in the 
village. The turnpike road passes partly under these 
archways, and partly to the left of them, so that carri- 
ages can either pass under them or by them. At a 
little distance past these singular erections we enter 
the precincts of the abbey. Let no one imagine to 
himself a scene of magnificent desolation, like that 
which meets the eye at Fountains and Kirkstall, 
Eievaux and Whitb}^, or he will be much disappointed 
in the appearance of these ruins. The outside of the 
buildings is not elegant ; nor, from the nature of the 
stone, can it ever have been so. It is a kind of blue 
lias, of a perishable nature, and is much mouldered by 
time, and the influence of the atmosphere. What may 
be confidently looked for at Sawley, is the ground-plan 
of a large monastic establishment ; and he who expects 
nothing more will be highly gratified by the inspection 
of the ruin. 

The site of the church and all the conventual build- 
ings that remain, were cleared of rubbish, in the year 



SAWLEY ABBEY. 179 

1849 ; the foundations, tombs, and inscriptions laid 
bare ; and the whole is now enclosed within a w^all, 
and carefully preserved from further destruction. 

The ground-plan of the church is easily distinguish- 
able. It consists of a choir with aisles, a transept, and 
a nave of very contracted dimensions. The entire 
length, from east to west, is one hundred and eighty- 
five feet ; the choir being one hundred and sixteen 
feet, and the nave, but forty feet, in length ; the 
breadth of the choir is sixty-two feet, that of the nave, 
thirty feet. The length from north to south along the 
transept, is one hundred and twenty-five feet, and its 
breadth forty feet. The nave presents nothing worthy 
of remark, except its very small dimensions. On the 
east side of the transept are six small chapels, or 
chantries, divided by partition walls, each with an altar 
and piscina remaining ; this is now the most interest- 
ing part of the building. The threshold of the north 
door of the transept is formed of a flat slab, evidently 
a tombstone, bearing a circle and the figure of a sword 
cut upon it. Turning to the left, w^e come to another 
tombstone, bearing a richly floriated cross, the base 
formed into three . steps, which form is technically 
known as the Calvery ; on one side is the figure of a 
sword, and on the other, something like a belt. A few 
steps from the last mentioned slab, we enter the most 
northerly of the small chapels, in the floor of which is 
a slab, the centre of which has formerly been filled 
with a brazen effigy of an ecclesiastic ; but the brass 
has been torn away long ago. Round the margin 



180 SAWLEY ABBEY. 

of the Stone is inscribed, "SIRE ROBERT DE 
CLYDERHOW, PERSONE DE WYGAN, GIST 
YCY. DIEU DE SA ALME EYT VERRAY 
MERCY +. 

This Robert de Clyderhow was a person of consider- 
able note in his day, and is supposed to have died 
about the year 1334. This chapel, and that adjoining 
it on the south, are paved with glazed tiles. In the 
middle chapel of the south transept, a square of the 
flooring is paved with light and dark coloured tiles, in 
a circular pattern, as a tesselated pavement. The 
design is good, and has a neat appearance, though the 
colours have faded since they were exposed to the air ; 
when first found, they were bright and lively. In front 
of the three chapels, in the south transept, and within 
that nearest the entrance of the choir, the flooring is 
laid with glazed tiles, of two colours ; some with 
designs sunk into their surface, others with the device 
only stained or burnt in. In the most southerly 
chapel, is a slab, a little broader at the head than at 
the feet, bearing two floriated crosses with the calvary 
step, carved upon it. The ground beneath this slab 
was examined, and a walled vault found, containing 
the skulls, and other bones, of two human bodies, laid 
side by side. So it is evident that the two crosses on 
the stone bad reference to the two bodies buried be- 
neath it. Near the door of the south transept, is 
another sepulchral slab, with a cross flory within a 
circle, cut upon the stone. Around the margin, is 
inscribed, — 



SAWLEY ABBEY. J81 

"fit jacel pagister aiili^ : k ippgtmt mm pgme 
fenie. fy^m mm ^xi^^idttm. 

This William de Rimington was one of the most 
famous, as well as the most learned, of the brethren of 
Sawley. He was chancellor of Oxford, in 1372. He 
was a great opponent of the Reformation at that 
period, and wrote many books against WicklifF and his 
doctrines. 

The ascent from the transept into the choir is by 
two steps. The bases of the two ranges of columns, 
which have divided the centre from the side aisles, are 
yet visible. The position of the high altar is easily 
determined, as one or two courses of the masonr}", of 
which it was composed, yet remain. In the chapter- 
house, which adjoins the south end of the transept, is 
a tombstone, with a cross and a pair of shears cut 
upon it. Beneath this slab, is a stone coffin, containing 
the principal bones of a skeleton, supposed to be that 
of a female. The upper part of the slab has been cut 
through, and the end is moveable, which slides off, 
and the bones are seen in the cavity beneath. The 
quadrangle, which has joined the south side of the 
nave of the church, has probably had a penthouse 
cloister around it, as fragments of the foundations of 
such an erection may yet be traced. 

The kitchen and refectory are easily discovered. 
Close to the south wall of the nave, is a pile of carved 
stones, capitals, mouldings, tracery of windows, and 
fragments of sculpture, many of them highly beautiful, 



182 SAWLEY ABBEY. 

and in freestone of a fine quality. Westward of the 
entrance of the nave, are parts of a singular arched 
building, which is supposed to have been the abbey 
bakery ; the remains of a brick oven are yet to be seen 
in one corner. The building has had a roof put over 
it, as the arch w^as not waterproof, and it now forms 
the refectory of the picnic parties which frequent the 
abbey. Some curious fragments of sculpture are pre- 
served here, one of which resembles a tragic mask, 
with a serpent issuing out at each corner of the mouth. 

Rear the south-east corner of the ruins, is the 
entrance of a subterraneous passage ; the descent into 
which, is by three or four steps ; it is of height and 
width sufficient to admit a man to walk along it in a 
stooping position, neatly arched at the top and flagged 
at the bottom. It has been traced beneath the present 
highway, and about one hundred yards beyond the 
buildings of the abbey. Tradition says it extended all 
the way to Whally abbey, a distance of seven miles. 

The situation of the abbey is low and warm, almost 
close to the river Kibble. 

Corn is now grown, and ripens in the neighbour- 
hood; and the meadows and pasture-lands are rich, 
green, and pleasant ; hills rise around and shelter the 
site, sometimes wooded, sometimes bare, but always 
enclosed and cultivated. The dwellings of the in- 
habitants, peeping out from leafy nooks, give variety 
to the picture ; while the huge bulk of Pendle lifts its 
heathy back to the clouds, and closes the prospect on 
the south. 



183 



St. Parg's pkg. 



The early history of the splendid abbey of St. Mary, 
York, which maintained a high reputation among the 
religious establishments of this country, during nearly 
five centuries, is involved in much obscurity. Previous 
to the year 1056, a monastery, called Galmanho, is 
supposed to have occupied the site of this abbey, and 
therein, the famous Siward, earl of Northumberland, 
was buried. 

Stephen, the first abbot of St. Mary's, states, that 
in 1078, he became a monk of Whitby, under Remfrid; 
that William de Percy, a Norman baron, by whom the 
fraternity there had been first patronised, finally drove 
them away by force ; that they fled to Lastingham, 
from which place also they were driven by the same 
powerful interest, with the king. In this state of 
afiliction, they were patronised by Alan, earl of 
Bretagne, who gave them a church, near the city of 
York, dedicated to St. Olave, w4th four acres of land 
adjoining, to build offices upon. And having obtained 
a license from the king, he persuaded the monks to 
make this the site of their abbey. 

Thomas, archbishop of York, in a suit against earl 
Alan, claimed the four acres of land above mentioned : 
whereupon king William I., to compose the difibrence, 



184 ST. Mary's abbey. 

promised the archbishop other lands in Heu of them, 
and so the matter ceased for a time. 

In 1088, king WiUiam II. coming to York, and 
visiting the new monastery, found it too straitened 
and narrow for the reception of the convent ; he 
projected a larger, and with his own hand, laid the 
foundation stone of another church. 

An ancient parchment, formerly preserved in what 
was called St. Mary's tower, dates the foundation in 
1089, when the dedication of the church was changed 
from St. Olave to St. Mary. 

Earl Alan liufus also gave to the monks a borough, 
without the walls of the city of York, called Earls- 
borough, together with nine carucates and a half of 
land at Clifton ; also the churches of Catterick and 
Richmond, the chapel of Richmond castle, with other 
possessions, and surrendered the advowson to the king. 
Alan Niger, the brother of Rufus, was also a benefactor 
to this abbey. 

Thomas, archbishop of York, subsequent to the in- 
creased endowment of the monastery, revived his suit 
for the four acres of land. Stephen, the abbot there- 
upon consulted the king ; who, in a council held at 
Gloucester, granted to the archbishop, on condition 
that he waived his suit, the the church of St. Stephen, 
in York, by way of exchange ; besides which, abbot 
Stephen, himself, that he might be perfectly reconciled 
to the archbishop, added, of his own free will, to the 
revenues of the see, one carucate of land in Clifton 
and another in Heslington. 



ST. Mary's abbey. 185 

By the charter of WiUiam Rufus, their lands were 
exempt from all regal exactions. Upon the death of 
an abbot, the convent was to have the power of elect- 
ing a successor. In case the sheriff or his officers had 
any complaint against the men of St. Mary's, they 
were first to acquaint the abbot therewith ; and, at an 
appointed time, to come to the abbey, and there re- 
ceive justice and right. The men of St. Mary's were 
also exempt from attendance at the county meetings of 
the ridings, wapentakes, and hundreds. 

King Henry II., by his charter, granted in the time 
of abbot Savarinus, confirmed the privileges specified 
in the charter of king William Rufus ; adding to them 
certain liberties and customs which had before been 
peculiar to the churches of St. Peter, at York, and 
St. John, of Beverley ; ordaining also, that, when the 
men of the county were summoned to serve in the 
king's army, the abbot of this monastery should find a 
man to carry the standard, or banner of St. Mary, in 
the same manner as the other churches sent their 
banners. In 1308, Edward II. granted a fair to be 
held in Bootham ; this grant was, however, subse- 
quently revoked at the instance of the citizens of York. 

Ivo Talleboys, whose descendants, as governors of 
Lancaster castle, assumed the surname of Lancaster, 
barons of Kendal, gave to this abbey three carucates 
of land, in Claxton ; likewise the church of Kirkby 
Stephen, with three carucates, and the tithes there ; 
also the church of Kirkby, in Kendal, with the lands 
thereunto belonging ; the churches of Hooton and 



186 ST. Mary's abbey. 

Barthum, with land called Haverbeck ; the church of 
Burton, with one carucate of land ; and the church of 
Clapham, with one carucate. 

The original fabric of the church, built in 1089, was 
destroyed in 1137, in a fire, which ruined the greater 
part of the city and cathedral of York. In 1 270, the 
abbot, Simon de Warwick, undertook to build a new 
church ; sitting in his chair, trowel in hand, the whole 
convent standing about him, he laid the first stone, 
and lived to see the work completed, which was effected 
in twenty-two years. The portions of ruin which yet 
remain are fragments of this edifice. 

The early patronage of royalty rapidly increased 
this foundation in importance, and it soon had the 
following six cells, or smaller houses, attached to it ; — 
namely, St. Martin's, at Richmond ; St. Bees and 
Weatherall, in Cumberland, the latter foundation not 
accurately known ; Saintoft, given by Roger de 
Mowbray ; and Haines, in Lincolnshire, by William, 
earl Warren ; Warrington, in Northumberland, and 
Marske, in Nottinghamshire, given by earl Alan, and 
suppressed by cardinal Wolsey ; and St. Mary Magda- 
len, at Lincoln. Forty-four churches and chapels in 
Yorkshire also belonged to this monastery. 

Considerable animosity long existed between the 
citizens and the monks, relative to their jurisdiction 
and privileges ; acts of violence were frequently com- 
mitted ; and, in 1262, the citizens slew several of 
their men, and burned a number of their houses out 
of Bootham Bar. A reconciliation was not effected 



ST. Mary's abbey. 187 

till Simon, the abbot paid £100, as a peace-offering 
to the enraged party ; but, even then, he was so 
much alarmed by the outrage, that he absented himself 
from the convent for more than a year. 

Defence and caution were now deemed requisite, 
and the abbot solicited the king to allow him to build 
a wall on each unprotected side of the abbey. The 
request was granted ; and hence arose the high wall 
adjoining to Bootham and Mary gate, the principal 
part of which yet remains. It was constructed as a 
complete fortification, with battlements and a wooden 
gallery within. 

Again, on Martinmas day, 1315, the citizens, at the 
instigation of Nicholas Fleming, and one Sizevaus, 
filled up the ditches adjoining the abbey walls, which 
had been made as a defence against them, and the 
plundering Scots ; and from that time till 1353, 
animosities continued to exist ; but in the latter year, 
articles of agreement were finally settled between the 
city and the abbey, through the mediation of arch- 
bishop Thurstan. 

This religious fraternity were black monks, of the 
order of St. Benedict, and had a psalter compiled 
particularly for their devotion ; but the archbishop of 
York, for the time being, had power to visit them 
once a year, for the purpose of correcting or reforming, 
by the council of the brethren, and by ^yo or six of 
the principal canons, any abuses that might be intro- 
duced. The abbot of St. Mary's was, however, little 
inferior to the archbishop of the province ; being 



188 ST. Mary's abbey. 

mitred, and having a seat in parliament, which entitled 
him to the dignified appellation of my lord. He and 
the superior of Selbj, were the only two abbots in the 
north of England who were thus honoured. His 
retinue was sumptuous whenever he travelled abroad ; 
and he possessed many splendid country houses, the 
principal of which were at Deighton and Overton. 
This prelate had also a spacious park at Beningbrough, 
which was always well stocked with game. 

William Thornton, who was confirmed in the abbacy, 
March 2nd, 1530, was abbot at the time of the dis- 
solution, and surrendered the abbey, November 26th, 
1539, into the hands of the king, and obtained a 
pension of four hundred marks per annum. At that 
time, there were fifty monks in the establishment ; 
and the annual amount of the revenues was, according 
to Speed, £2085. Is. 3f d., and according to Dugdale, 
£1550. 7s. Old. 

This house, among its numerous Yorkshire posses- 
sions, had the manors and lordships of Appleton, 
Bramham, Burniston, Catterick, Clifton, Deighton, East 
Cottingwith, Fimber, Foston, Fulford, Gilling, Gilmanby, 
Grimston, Harton, Hornby, Hornsey, Kirkby, Myton, 
Normanby, Poppleton, Rudston, Shipton, Skelton, and 
Spaunton ; and the fisheries at Hornsey, ferry at 
Myton, and mills at Fulford and Myton. 

The mitred abbeys, at their dissolution, were, for the 
most part, granted by the king, to noble or wealthy 
families, in consideration of service, of exchange of 
lands, or of the payment of a sum of money ; and it 



ST. Mary's abbey. 189 

was not unnatural for the new owners, under the ap- 
prehensions excited by the unsettled state of the 
reformation, to hasten the work of demolition, which 
religious zeal had begun. The monastery of St. Mary 
was retained by the crown j yet it shared in the fate 
which befel the greater part of religious houses in 
England, at that period. When the monks were dis- 
persed, the church, as well as the noble offices attached 
to it, became useless. The parish of St. Olave possessed 
a church adjoining the monastery, fuU}^ adequate to its 
wants. There was, therefore, no sacred purpose to 
which the conventual church could be applied, and it 
was doomed to destruction. 

What chiefly contributed to the speedy and almost 
total overthrow of the church and conventual buildings, 
was the order issued by the crown, to erect, on their 
site, a palace for the lords president of the north. 
The monastic buildings furnished abundant materials 
for this stately edifice ; and the beautifully-sculptured 
stones were either altered to suit the purposes of the 
new building, or wrought, unaltered, into the walls, or 
buried in the foundations. And when it ceased to be 
used as a palace, a large portion of its walls, which 
had either gradually fallen into decay, or had suffered 
injury during the civil wars, together with such of the 
offices of the monastery as still remained, were granted 
by the crown, in the year 1701, to the magistrates of 
the county, to be employed in building the county 
gaol. In 1705, another portion was granted to the 
parish of St. Olave, for the repairs of the church : 



190 ST. Mary's abbey. 

and in 1717, the corporation of Beverley was allowed 
to carry away, during the space of three ^^ears, as 
much stone as might be required for the repair of 
Beverley minster. And so little care was taken to 
preserve the remains of the church, that a sacrilegious 
Goth was suffered to erect a kiln, and burn its stones 
into lime. This is the lowest point of degradation to 
which any building can be brought ; the owls and bats 
in the ruins of Babylon are preferable inmates to such 
sordid beings, whose souls are only set on gain. 

. In 1822, part of the site of the abbey was obtained 
by the Yorkshire Philosophical Society, for the purpose 
of forming an English Botanic Garden, and erecting a 
Museum The site chosen for the building was that 
on which the front part of the lord president's palace 
had formerly stood ; and which it was evident must 
still earlier have been occupied by the buildings of the 
monastery, which usually extended in a direct line from 
the south transept of the church. From the appearance 
of the surface, it was conjectured that the ground would 
be full of the ruins of the latter, or of the more ancient 
structure, perhaps of both. But the first opening of 
the ground discovered what no one had ventured 
to expect ; not mere heaps of mutilated stones, but 
considerable portions of the walls of the monastery, of 
spacious and elegant doorways, of columns of varied 
forms, rising to the height of five or six feet ; standing, 
as they had been before the dissolution of the abbey, 
intersected by the massive foundations of the palace ; 
while in the intervening spaces, were scattered number- 



ST. Mary's abbey. 191 

less fragments of capitals, mouldings, and rich tracery- 
work. Of similar materials, the foundation walls of 
the palace, upon being broken up, were found to 
consist. The curiosity of the public was most power- 
fully excited ; not an hour passed without bringing to 
light some long-buried specimen of the art of the 
monastic sculptor ; some memorial of departed splen- 
dour, to gratify the eye, to exercise the imagination, 
and to send back the thoughts to times, and persons, 
and manners, long passed away. A subscription was 
raised for the purpose of extending the excavations 
beyond what was necessary for the foundations of the 
museum ; and when this sum was exhausted, and 
much of the ground remained unexplored, the council 
of the society undertook the charge of carrying out 
what had been so happily begun. Under their direc- 
tion, the work was continued for a considerable time, 
until nearly every part of what had been granted to 
them had been carefully examined. Thus was the 
ground-plan of this great abbey laid open, and exposed 
for the inspection, gratification, and instruction of those 
to whom the economy of monastic architecture is a 
subject of interesting inquiry. 

The conventual church was three hundred and 
seventy-one feet in length, and sixty in breadth, and 
is remarkable for the great length of the choir. The 
transepts had only one aisle. The interior of the 
northern side of the nave has eight windows, the lights 
and tracery of which are varied alternately, in a very 
remarkable manner. The window nearest to the 



\ 



192 ST. Mary's abbey. 

western front was divided by one mullion into two 
trefoil-headed lights ; above which, in the head of the 
arch, was a sexfoil light. The next window was 
divided by two mullions, into three trefoil-headed 
lights, above which were placed three quatrefoil lights; 
and thus, alternately, along the whole of the nave. 
But the mouldings in the tracery of the three windows 
nearest the transept differed from the others in being 
filleted. Beneath each of the windows, were three 
canopied niches, with very bold tracery. There being 
no aisle on the western side of the transept, the 
windows, two in number, were very large and lofty. 
The western front of the church must have been, when 
in its perfect state, exceedingly beautiful : it was 
divided into three divisions, by buttresses, crowned 
with turrets or spires, and crocketed pinnacles. In 
the deep hollow mouldings of the doorway, was carved 
the shoots of a vine rising from the bottom, and at the 
top, passing in front of the nearest part of the column, 
so as to form a foliated capital. The great quadrangle 
was probably furnished with a penthouse cloister on 
every side. In the western cloister, the school of the 
monastery was usually kept ; and near this side, frag- 
ments of painted tiles were found, having on them 
letters of the alphabet, in characters of the fourteenth 
century, which were read from right to left. The 
level of the quadrangle near the transept, was three 
feet nine inches below the level of the church. 

Of the chapter-house, nothing remains but the lower 
portion of the foundations. The approach to the 



ST, Mary's abbey. 193 

clmpter-house, from the quadrangle, was through a 
beautiful vestibule, supported by two rows of pillars, 
which afford specimens of the styles of three or four 
different ages. The piers, at the farthest end, are 
ornamented with zigzag, and other rich work ; they 
formerly supported a pointed arch, of three curious 
and beautifully-sculptured mouldings, which formed 
the portal of the chapter-house. This arch is now pre- 
served in the building in the museum grounds, called 
the Hospitium, and most probably belonged to the 
buildings begun by the first abbot, Stephen de Whitby. 

The refectory, eighty-two feet long and thirty-seven 
wide, corresponded, in its dimensions, with the magni- 
tude of the establishment. It was longitudinally 
divided into three parts, by two rows of octangular 
pillars, five in each row, and separated from the other 
apartments by a wall only twelve inches thick. The 
floor of the recess, just within the apartment, on the 
right hand, was made of plain glazed bricks, nine 
inches square, purple and yellow, alternately. 

In levelling the ground on the south side of the 
nave, the workmen came to masses of stones, which 
appeared like the foundation of a broad wall crossing 
the aisle, and which was found to consist almost 
entirel}^ of the tracery work of the windows of the 
church, cemented with the mortar used in the building 
of the palace. Under these stones, at a depth of about 
eight feet, seven statues were discovered, lying with 
the faces downward ; four of them were nearly perfect, 
the three others were much mutilated. All of them 



194 ST. Mary's abbey. 

had been painted and gilded, but the colours rapidly 
faded on being exposed to light and air. The form of 
the drapery is different in each, but elegant in all, 
though the workmanship is somewhat rude. The feet 
are bare, and rest on a small slab. Of these four, 
three are evidently Jews ; they have been supposed to 
represent Moses, Elijah, and Ezra. Of the four re- 
maining, one only has a head, which is without a 
beard ; the dress of these also differs much from that 
of the preceding ; and the general appearance is that 
of younger persons. Each holds a book, but has no dis- 
tinctive emblem. At the back of these statues, is part 
of the shaft of a pillar, about seven inches in diameter, 
which determines their situation in the church to have 
been against the columns which supported the groin- 
ings of the roof, either just below, or just above the 
springing of the side arches of the nave ; these are 
also preserved in the hospitium. 

The singular building of stone and timber in the 
lower part of the Museum grounds, is conjectured to 
have been erected for the entertainment of those 
strangers who were not admitted to the principal 
apartments of the monastery ; the lower room, serving 
for the refectory, and the upper, originally of the same 
extent, the dormitory. It is now the receptacle of the 
numerous British, Roman, and Medioeval antiquities, 
which have been found in York and the neighbour- 
hood ; and, whatever it may have been formerly, is 
now, to the person of cultivated taste, one of the most 
interesting buildings in the city. 



ST. Mary's abbey. 195 

No one can visit this interesting spot without finding 
something to admire, be his tastes what they may ; 
should the gardens fail to attract his attention, there 
is the multangular tower, of Roman workmanship, the 
ruins of the abbey, and St. Leonard's Hospital ; the 
whole site is full of historic recollections, and almost 
every stone has its history in the eyes and mind of the 
curious enquirer ; and should these fail also, there is 
the Museum, one of the most elegant buildings in the 
north of England, with its collection of treasures, 
antique and rare, gathered from all the kingdoms of 
Nature, and all the ages of Art. 



19G 



g0rk Castk. 

It is not our intention in this sketch to attempt any 
account of the fortified mound of " Aberach," a fortress 
of the Britons, at the confluence of the Foss and Ouse, 
before the Romans gained a footing in the north ; or 
of the fortifications, towers, or castles, reared by 
the victorious legionaries on the same spot. The two 
castles of the Saxons, which were garrisoned by the 
soldiers of the Norman William, and stormed by Danes 
and Saxons in 1069 ; and afterwards defended against 
the Conqueror himself, by the brave Saxon earl, 
Waltheof, have disappeared from the earth, and their 
strength and situation are alike forgotten. Of the 
foundation of the present ancient fragment, commonly 
called " Clifford's Tower," we have no direct evidence, 
and conjecture must supply the place of recorded 
truth. The general opinion is, that a castle was 
founded here, by "William I., soon after the capture of 
the city from Waltheof and the Saxons. Drake says, 
" I believe this was built a solo, probably on a Roman 
foundation, by William I., and made so strong in order 
to keep the citizens and Northumbrians in awe, and to 
preserve his garrisons better than they were in the 
former. It continued in his successors' hands, the 
kings of England, and was the constant residence of 



YORK CASTLE. 197 

the high sheriffs of the county, during their shrievaUtj, 
for some ages after." It is also worthy of remark, 
that, whilst the castle thus remained in the hands of 
the sovereign, it was used as a magazine, or store- 
house for his revenues in the north, and consequently 
there was a constable appointed whose duty it was 
solely to attend to this department. When at the 
summit of its strength and greatness, this fortress was 
entirely surrounded by the Foss ; the moat may yet 
be clearly traced ; the building being thus rendered 
inaccessible, except by two drawbridges. The principal 
gate, or entrance from the country was on the east side, 
near the castle mills ; and there was a smaller one, 
from the city, on the north side. The latter gate was 
rebuilt many years ago, and was, till lately, the only 
entrance. A small arch under the wall in front of it, 
where the arms of the city were placed, shewed the 
spot where the ancient drawbridge was erected ; while 
the bridge, gate, towers, and sally-port, on the eastern 
side, have all been entirely cleared away. 

In the reign of Richard III. this fortress was found 
so much out of order, that it was considered requisite 
very materially to repair, and in part rebuild it. 
Leland, however, in the time of Henry VIII., found it 
in a very ruinous condition, and observes, " The area 
of this castle is no very great quan title ; there be five 
ruinous tours in it.'' Sir Thomas Widdrington, in M.S., 
says, " That part of the castle which remains of the old 
foundation appears to be only the gatehouse to the 
old building, by the proportion of the gates shewing 



198 YORK CASTLE. 

themselves on the east side, towards Fishergate postern, 
where the great door is walled up, and where the 
main building of the castle was, as is manifest by the 
foundation walls all over the said place, if it be tried 
with the spade or hack." 

The chief object of antiquity worthy of notice, within 
the walls of the modern castle, is Clifford's Tower. This 
mount and ruin, which are a great ornament to the 
city, exactly correspond with Baile hill, on the oppo- 
site side of the river. Drake supposes, that the mound 
on which the ruins of the " keep of the castle " are 
now seen, was cast up by the Romans, and that a 
tower was standing on it during their residence in this 
city, though it might be rebuilt by the Conqueror. 
Dr. King, in his Munimenta Antiqua, supposes, that 
this tower was one of the castles mentioned in Stow's 
Annals, as built by William the Conqueror, in 1068. 
This last author, in confirmation of his opinion, says, 
" JN'orman castles were built on high artificial mounds, 
and nearly covered the whole area of the summit. 
The castles built by the Saxons were on high mounds, 
or ancient barrows, and had a great plain or area 
surrounding them." 

The architecture of Clifford's Tower, however, bears 
evident marks of a date much later than the reign of 
William I. There is no record of its being rebuilt, but 
the present structure cannot be older than the time of 
Edward I. ; and Mr. Britton thinks it was probably 
erected in the reign of his warlike grandson, Edward 
III. 



YORK CASTLE. 199 

This fortress derived its name from the circumstance 
of one of the noble family of Clifford having been 
appointed the first governor by the Conqueror ; and 
Sir Thomas Widdrington remarks, "the lords of Clifford 
were very anciently called casteleyns, wardens, or 
keepers of the tower." This family have repeatedly 
claimed a right of carrying the city's sword before the 
king, when he visited York ; but the ground of it ap- 
pears to be unaccountable, as the lord mayor certainly 
cannot have any superior in dignity to him within the 
walls of the city, except the king himself, or the pre- 
sumptive heir to the British crown. 

The tower, drawbridge, &c., having fallen into decay, 
it was found requisite for them to undergo a complete 
repair, at the commencement of the civil wars of 
Charles I. Of this improvement, Drake speaks in the 
following terms : " By the direction of Henry, then 
earl of Cumberland, lord lieutenant of the northern 
parts, and governor of York, this tower was repaired ; 
a considerable additional square building put to it, on 
that side next the castle, on which, over the gate, in 
stone work, are placed the royal arms, and those of the 
Cliffords, viz., Chequee, a fess, ensigned with an earl's 
coronet, supported by two wyverns, and this motto 
Desormais" This tower was strengthened with a 
drawbridge, deep moat, and palisades ; and on the top 
was constructed a platform, on which were mounted 
two demi-culverins, and a raker ; a garrison was also 
appointed to defend it. Sir Thomas Cobb was made 
governor, who, with his lieutenant-colonel, major, and 



200 YORK CASTLE. 

captains, had their lodgings in it, during the siege of 
York, in 1644. After the surrender of the city to the 
parliament generals, York was dismantled of all its 
garrisons, except this tower, of which, Thomas Dicken- 
son, then lord mayor, was made governor. 

On the restoration of Charles II., the government of 
this tower was confided to Sir John Reresby, A. D, 
1683. It was, however, blown up in the following 
year ; and the circumstance is thus related, in an old 
MS. diary of the times. " About ten o'clock on the 
night of St. George's day, April 23rd, 1684, hap- 
pened a most dreadful fire, within the tower called 
Clifford's Tower, which consumed to ashes all the 
interior thereof, leaving standing only the out-shell 
of the walls of the tower, without any harm to the 
the city, save one man slain by the fall of a piece of 
timber, blown up by the force of the flames, or rather 
by some powder therein. It was generally thought a 
wilful act, the soldiers not suff*ering the citizens to 
enter until it was too late ; and what made it more 
suspicious was, that the gunner had got out all his 
goods before it was discovered." That this tower was 
intentionally destroyed is very probable, not only from 
the circumstances just enumerated, but also from the 
garrison being highly offensive to the citizens ; who so 
decidedly evinced their opinion as commonly to give 
as a toast, " The demolishing of the minced pie ; " a 
name given at that time to the fortress. 

Little worthy notice occurs in the further history of 
this fabric. About 1825, it was purchased, along with 



YORK CASTLE. 201 

other property in the immediate neighbourhood, to 
enlarge the county gaol, and some ignorant persons 
proposed to level it with the surrounding ground ; this, 
however, was met by the magistracy of the county 
with such feeling and good taste, that the plan was 
abandoned ; and, highly to their credit, they resolved 
to erect a strong wall round the mound, thereby 
protecting, for some centuries to come, this beautiful 
specimen of feudal grandeur. 

The plan of this tower consists of four segments of 
circles joined together. The largest diameter, from 
periphery to periphery, being sixty-four feet, and the 
shortest, from intersection to intersection, being forty- 
five feet. The walls are between nine and ten feet 
thick. The entrance is through the modern square 
tower mentioned before, over which, are the arms of 
the Clifford family. On the left of the entrance, are 
the remains of a winding staircase, formerly leading to 
the chapel. Beyond this, was the original entrance, of 
which, the remains of a ruined archway may still be 
seen. Within these ruins, is yet standing, a small 
pointed arch, and near it, may be traced the grooves 
of a portcullis, and other requisites for offence and 
defence. In the centre of the area, is a large branch- 
ing walnut tree, which has a curious appearance, being 
entirely surrounded by the massy walls of the tower. 
To the right of the entrance, is a winding stone 
staircase, and there are, in different parts, the evident 
remains of several more which led to the upper 
stories. Near this staircase, is a draw-well of excellent 



202 YORK CASILE. 

water, not less than fifty feet in depth. Proceeding 
round the interior of the ground-floor, several recesses 
will be observed in the walls, which have been 
designed for various purposes, at present unknown. 

Ascending to the top of the tower, the wall is 
sufiicientlj broad to walk upon all round. From this 
eminence, the eye will be gratified with the most 
interesting scenery ; whilst the city, with its public 
buildings, and the fields beyond it, present themselves 
on one side ; the diversified prospects on the other, 
embrace the rivers Ouse and Foss winding near the 
new walk, whose fine row of trees gives additional 
interest to the scene. Immediately below, the county 
prison and yard appear to the best advantage. 
Descending a flight of winding steps, on the opposite 
side of the one mentioned in the ascent, and proceed- 
ing to the exterior of the tower, we are gratified with 
a neat and broad grass lawn, forming a walk round 
the building. 

The old castle, after it ceased to be a garrisoned 
fortress, was converted into a county prison for felons 
and debtors ; and having become ruinous, was taken 
down in 1701, and an entirely new prison erected, 
mostly of stone brought from St. Mary's abbey. This 
stands near the Foss on the south side of the area, and 
is called the " old building," to distinguish it from the 
new building, on the east side of the yard, erected in 
1780, and enlarged in 1783 ; which forms a long and 
lofty range of buildings, with numerous apartments, 
spacious galleries, an hospital, and a chapel ; with a 



YORK CASTLE. 203 

handsome front, 150 feet in length, embelHshed with 
four Ionic cohimns, and uniform in appearance with 
the county hall, which stands on the opposite side of 
the castle yard, and which was built in 1763, and 
rebuilt in 1777, with an entrance portico of six Ionic 
pillars, thirty feet high, surmounted by an elegant 
figure of Justice, and other emblematical devices. 
The length of the building is one hundred and fifty 
feet, and it breadth forty-four feet. The Crown Court 
occupies the south end of the building, and the other 
end is the Msi Frius Court. Each court is thirty feet 
in diameter, with a dome forty feet in height, elegantly 
ornamented, and supported by twelve Corinthian 
columns. Adjoining these courts, are handsome rooms, 
for the use of the grand and petty juries. Near the 
grand jury room, in the rear of the building, with an 
aspect towards the Ouse, is the " New Drop," used for 
the execution of criminals ; first erected here in 1802; 
and in the following twenty-five years, no fewer than 
seventy-four malefactors suff'ered there. Between 1716 
and 1818, the county gaol was four times presented 
by the grand juries, and as often improved and 
enlarged. It was again presented in 1821 ; and the 
magistrates determined to make a considerable ad- 
dition to the prison of this great county, and to place 
it on the new system of classification, arrangement, 
and inspection. The new works, inclosing Clifford's 
Tower, and all the ground extending from it to the 
river Foss, were completed in 1836, at a cost of 
£203,530. Nearly one half of which was expended in 



204 YORK CASTLE. 

erecting the massive boundary wall, which is thirty-two 
feet high, and with its pierced battlements, recessed 
gateway, and projecting towers, presents the appear- 
ance of an extensive fortification. 

The new prison, which stands on the north-east side 
of Clifford's Tower, comprises four radiating wings, 
with eight airing courts ; inspection into which is 
thoroughly obtained from the gavernor's house in the 
centre. To each prisoner is allotted a separate cell ; 
but there are also in every ward two cells, capable of 
accommodating three prisoners in each, if requisite. 
The buildings are fire-proof, being wholly constructed 
of stone and wrought iron, and erected in the most 
secure manner possible. A room adjoining the 
governor's house is occupied by a great number of 
deadly weapons, heavy chains, &c., of some of the most 
notorious criminals executed here. Over the entrance 
of the gateway in Tower-street, are situate the indict- 
ment ofiice, and record room ; with offices for the clerks 
of arraigns and assize ; and also a residence for the 
porter; over which are lock-up rooms for prisoners who 
may arrive in the night ; so that the great security of 
the prison may not be disturbed at unseasonable hours. 

Prison as it is, and associated with the clanking of 
fetters, the wail of woe, the agony of despair, and 
almost all that is tragic and horrible in humanity, 
what a history does it present to the reflective mind ! 
What scenes have taken place within its walls ! What 
feelings have been brought into intense action ! And 
what vast varieties of human wretchedness have been 



YORK CASTLE. 205 

displayed here ! An enumeration of even the most 
distinguished would form a history of no common 
interest. 

In 1604, that high born malefactor, Walter Calverley, 
Esq., of Calverley Hall, was tried for the murder of his 
own children, and an attempt upon the life of his wife ; 
the particulars are well known, as they formed the 
foundation of a dramatic production of considerable 
merit, which some have attributed to the pen of 
Shakespere. He refused to plead either guilty or not 
guilty ; by which means the estates were preserved to 
his family. He was adjudged to be pressed to death ; 
according to which judgment he was executed in the 
castle here, August 5th, 1604. 

In 1608, Mary Pannell, who had long been celebrated 
for supposed sorceries, was hung at York, under the 
impression, that, among other crimes, she had bewitched 
to death William Witham, who died at Ledstone, in 
1593. 

The following year, the vicar of Calverley, and five 
of his parishioners, executed a certificate, which was 
presented to the judges, wherein they charitably de- 
clared, " that Robert Hare, Isabella Hare, his mother, 
Ann Brigg, and Elizabeth Birkenshaye, all of their own 
parish, were vehemently suspected of the devilish art of 
witchcraft,^^ and that they had done much hurt and 
mischief to their neighbours for the space of twenty 
years past. How men's opinions have altered and 
faith changed, since a vicar thought he was doing God 
service, by taking the lead in such a ridiculous affair. 



206 YORK CASTLE. 

In 1655, a venerable patriarch, from the banks of 
the Swale, the oldest Englishman of whom we have 
any record, Henry Jenkins, appeared in court, to give 
evidence of what he knew, and had seen, one hmidred 
and twenty years before. His statement was doubted, 
and himself reprimanded by the judge ; but the truth 
was in the old man, he was not daunted, and boldly 
maintained his assertions, so as at length to satisfy 
both judge and jury. 

In 1648, the seat of judgment in York was polluted 
by the presence of the inhuman judge Jeffries. 

On the suppression of the rebellion of the adherents 
of the unfortunate house of Stuart, great numbers of 
prisoners were confined in York castle, and no fewer 
than twenty-seven were executed. Brave men, perish- 
ing in a worthless cause, and for a prince whom they 
loved not wisely but well. Who does not pity them now 1 

August 3rd, 1759, appeared before a jury of his 
countrymen, (not of his peers,) the pale, self-taught, 
many-languaged student, Eugene Aram, to plead for 
his life, on a charge of murder, committed fourteen 
years before. Here he made his singularly argumenta- 
tive defence — here he was convicted — and here his last 
words were written. With a more than Stoical calm- 
ness, with a more than Christian resignation, he says ; 

" Come pleasing rest ! eternal slumber fall, 
Seal mine, that once must seal the eyes of all. 
Calm and composed, my soul her journey takes, 
No guilt that troubles, and no heart that aches ! 
Adieu, thou sun ! all bright like her arise. 
Adieu, dear friends ! and all that's good and wise ! " 



YORK CASTLE. 207 

Singular in his life, singular in his death, posterity 
has done him justice and honour; inwoven into history, 
romance and song, his name can never die as long as 
his native language lives. 

In August, ] 787, appeared in York, John Howard, 
whose name and philanthropy have become synony- 
mous terms ; he " who trod an open, but unfrequent 
path to immortality ; " whose mission was " to dive 
into the depths of dungeons, to plunge into the infec- 
tion of hospitals, to survey the mansions of sorrow and 
pain ; to take the guage and dimensions of misery, 
depression, and contempt ; to remember the forgotten, 
to attend to the neglected, to visit the forsaken ; and 
compare and collate the distresses of all men, in all 
countries." He visited the castle, and declared, after 
all his experience, that it was the best regulated prison 
he had ever seen. 

In 1795, and again in 1796, the bard of Sheffield, 
James Montgomery, was confined in York Castle, for 
an alleged libel on the government ; and here he 
composed his prison amusements. Truly the history 
of the castle is vast and various, but we must cease, 
though much yet remains untold. 



208 



rcssil €ixBik. 



At a distance of four miles north-west of Howden, 
and about seven miles east of Selby, — almost close to 
the river Derwent, where it is crossed by the Hull and 
Selby llailwaj, — are the remains of Wressil Castle, 
once the abode of the princely earls of Northumber- 
land, now a naked ruin. This castle was founded by 
Thomas Percy, earl of Worcester, who was taken 
prisoner at the battle of Shrewsbury, and beheaded 
there, in the year 1403. It afterwards came into the 
possession of the Northumberland family, with whom 
it continued until its demolition by order of parliament, 
at the end of the great civil war, of the seventeenth 
century. On the death of Joceline, the eleventh earl 
of Northumberland, in 1670, the barony of Percy 
descended to his daughter, who married Charles 
Seymour, duke of Somerset : the Seymours continued 
lords of Wressil, till the year 1750 ; when the duke of 
Somerset dying without issue male, his estates were 
separated ; those which came from the Percy family 
were divided between his daughter, who married Sir 
Hugh Smithson, and his nephew, Sir Charles Wyndham ; 
to this nobleman fell the Yorkshire estates of the 
Percies ; and in his descendants they yet remain, the 
Honble. George, colonel Wyndham being the present 



WRESSIL CASTLE., 209 

owner. " The inhabitants of Wressil have a current 
tradition, that all the men capable of bearing arms in 
that parish, were with the earl of IN'orthumberland at 
the battle of Chevy Chase, where most of them were 
slain." * 

Leland, who saw the castle in its complete state, has 
left the following description of it : 

" From Howden to Wressill three miles ; all by low 
meadow and pasture-ground, whereof part is enclosed 
wdth hedges. Yet is the ground that the castle of 
"Wressill standeth on, somew^hat high, in the respect of 
the very low ground thereabouts. Most part of the 
base court of the castle is all of timber. The castle 
itself is moated about on three sides, the fourth part is 
dry, where is the entrance. The castle is all of very 
fair and great squared stone, both within and w^ithout, 
(whereof as some hold opinion,) much was brought out 
of France. It has only five towers, one at each corner, 
almost all of like biggness ; the gatehouse is the fifth, 
having five lodgings in height. Three of the other 
towers have four lodgings in height : the fourth con- 
taineth the Butlery, Pantry, Pastery, Lardery, and 
Kitchen. 

" The Hall and the great chambers be fair, and so is 
the Chapelle, and the Closettes. To conclude, the 
House is one of the most propre beyond Trent, and 
seemeth as newly made : yet was it made by a younger 
brother of the Percys earl of Worcester, that was in 
high favour with Richard the second, and bought the 

* Baines' Yoriishire, Art. Wressil. 
P 



210 WRESSIL CASrLE. 

manor of Wressill, mounting at that time above thirty 
H by the year : and for lack of heirs of him, and by 
favour of the king, it came to the earls of Northumber- 
land. 

'* The base court is of a newer building ; and the last 
earl of Northumberland, saving one, made the brew- 
house of stone, without the castle wall, but hard join- 
ing to the Kechyn of it. 

"One thing I likid exceedingly in one of the towers, 
that was a study called Paradise ; where was a closet 
in the middle of eight squares latticed about, and at 
the top of every square, was a deske lodged to set 
books on cofers within them, and these seemed as 
joined hard to the top of the closet ; and yet by pulling, 
one or all would come down in rabbettes, and serve for 
desks to lay books upon. The garde robe in the castle 
was exceedingly fair, and so were the gardens within 
the moat, and the orchards without ; and in the 
orchards were mounts Opere topiario writhen about 
with degrees, like turnings of cockle shells, to come to 
the top without pain. 

u The river of Darwent runneth almost hard by the 
castle ; and about a mile lower goeth into Ouse. This 
river at great rains rageth and overfloweth much of 
the ground thereabout, being low meadows. 

" There is a Park hard by the castle." 

Three of the apartments in this castle were adorned 
with poetical inscriptions, which were perhaps written 
by Henry Algernon Percy, fifth earl of Northumber- 
land, a great lover of learning and learned men. 



WRESSIL CASTLE. 211 

In this castle the earls of Northumberland displayed 
a magnificence resembhng and scarcely inferior to that 
of the royal court ; their household was established on 
the same plan, their ofiicers bore the same titles, and 
their warrants ran in the same style. Various curious 
information, respecting this picture of feudal manners, 
are detailed in a scarce book, published in 1770, by 
the duke of Northumberland, 

Wressil castle continued in all its splendour, till the 
fatal civil wars broke out, in 1641. It was then gar- 
risoned with soldiers for the parliament ; and notwith- 
standing the earl of Northumberland had espoused 
their cause, the damage he sustained there by his own 
party, before Michaelmas, 1646, was adjudged to 
amount to £1000, in the destruction of his buildings, 
leads, outhouses, &c., by the garrison ; their havoc of 
his woods, inclosures, &c., without including the losses 
he had sustained in the non-payment of his rents, in 
consequence of the contributions levied on his tenants. 

On the decline of the king's party, it appears, that 
the northern counties enjoyed some respite ; but in 
1648, some attempts being made, or expected from 
the royalists, fresh troops were sent into the north ; 
and in May, that year, major-general Lamberfc ordered 
a small detachment of sixty men to garrison Wressil 
castle, of which major Charles Fenwick had all along 
continued governor for the parliament, with the entire 
approbation of the earl of Northumberland, 

About the beginning of June, 1648, Pomfret castle 
was seized for the king, and underwent a siege of ten 



212 WRESSIL CASTLE. 

months : to prevent any more surprizes of this kind, a 
resolution was taken for demoHshing all the castles in 
that part of England. And while the earl of Northum- 
berland was exerting all his influence in London, to 
save this noble seat of his ancestors, a committee at 
York"' sent a sudden and unexpected order to dis- 
mantle it, which was executed with such precipitation 
and fury, that before the earl could receive notice of 
the design, the mischief was done. 

In consequence of this order, three sides of the square, 
which formerly composed Wressil castle, were entirely 
demolished. However, the whole south front, which 
was the most considerable, and contained some of the 
state apartments, still remains, and is very magnificent 
even in ruin. The garden on this side yet remains 

* The Order for demolishing Wressil Castle. 

" In pursuance of the orders of Councell (of) State to ns directed, for the 
makingjAVressil Castle untenable, as also of a further Order of the Com- 
mittee of Militia of the County of Yorke to that purpose ; These are therefore 
to require you to proceede in making the sayd Castle untenable with all 
speede : which we conceave will be by throwing do"\vne to the ground all 
that side wherein the Hall stands, to the Towre adjoyning, leaving only the 
South Side remayning ; wherein we require you alsoe That Windowes be 
broken forth of eight foote breadth and height, and eight foote distance round 
about all that side which remaynes ; And that it be downe by the 17th of 
May next ; that the Country may be secured from any danger that may 
happen thereby. Given under our hands at Wresle this 17th of April 1650. 
You are also to throwe down all the Battlements round about. 

Phil. Saltmarsh. 

Chas. Feinwicke. 

Ed. Kir-Lewe. 

Tho. Athroppe. 

Direction ffor Mr. William Plaxton or other the Lord Northumberland's 
Officers at "VYresle. 



WRESSIL CASTLE. 213 

within the moat, which has enclosed the south, west, 
and north sides ; the entrance has been on the east. 
This front is flanked by two large square towers, which 
have been four stories in height, as may be seen by 
the fire-places, and corbels inserted in the walls to 
bear the floors. These towers are each ascended by a 
circular stair of stone, in excellent preservation, ending 
at the top in an octagonal turret, which is yet complete 
on them both. On the top of the south-west turret, is 
the stem of a fire-pan, which has been used as a 
beacon. The view from the summit is of great extent^ 
overlooking the course of the rivers Ouse and Derwent. 
Among the more interesting objects, may be enumer- 
ated, York minster, Selby church ; the churches of 
Hemingbrough, Drax, and Goole, with their tall^ 
needle-like spires ; the massive pile of Howden church, 
and the whole front of the Yorkshire wolds. 

The lower range of buildings, between the two 
towers, has contained the great chamber or drawing 
room, this has been on the second story ; the lower 
has been occupied by inferior apartments. The win- 
dows are of two narrow lights each, with a massive 
transom across, a little below the middle. 

A narrow opening, at the base of the north-east 
tower, is said to be the entrance of a subterraneous 
passage leading to Howden church, which is four miles 
distant. 

This part of the castle was occupied as a farm-house 
till 1796, when it was accidentally burned, leaving 
only the shell remaining ; but the walls are yet in 



214 WRESSIL CASTLE, 

such a complete state, that it only wants a new roof, 
and the inside repairing, and it would even yet form a 
stately mansion. The walls exhibit not the least 
symptom of decay, and look much newer than they 
really are. The stone is of such excellent quality, that 
the carvings and edges of the mouldings are as fresh 
as when they first came from the workman's hands. 
A small fragment of the buildings within the area 
remains, which is supposed to have been the bake- 
house ; it is now thickly mantled over with ivy. 

The village of Wressil is but small and insignificant, 
and it is only on market days that trains stop there. 
The nearest regular stations are Cliffe and Howden ; 
the one three, the other four miles distant. If there 
was a station close to the place, the castle would be 
more visited, and obtain the admiration which is 
justly its due. 



216 



Mutton %hk^. 



The remains of this abbey and nunnerj are about 
six miles south of Driffield, on the high road leading 
from that place to Beverley. It appears from Bede,"^^' 
that a nunnery was in existence here about the year 
686 ; but little is known of its history at this remote 
period. It was visited by St. John, of Beverley, in 
the time of Hereberga, the abbess ; from which we 
may safely conclude, that it had been in existence for 
some indefinite period before his time ; and was then 
in a regular state of subordination and ecclesiastical 
discipline. It was here that St. John wrought one of 
his miracles, by restoring one of the nuns to health, 
who had, injudiciously, been bled on the fourth day of 
the moon. 

No further notice is made of Watton, or its monas- 
tery, in any ancient historian, until the Norman Con- 
quest ; although there are strong reasons for believing 
that the latter was destroyed by the Danes, at the 
same time as Beverley monastery, and the inmates 
s]ain or dispersed. That devastation took place about 
the year 870. 

About the year 1149, Watton abbey was re-founded 
by Eustace Fitz John, at the instance of Murdac, 

* Ecclesiastical History, B, Y., cliap. iv. 



21 G WATTON ABBEY. 

arclibishop of York, as an expiation of his crimes, and 
dedicated to the blessed virgin. The new institution 
supported thirteen canons, and thirty-six nuns of the 
Gilbertine order; but subsequent benefactions consider- 
ably increased the numbers. Eustace Fitz John gave 
to this house the lordship of Watton, whether in lands 
or wastes, meadows, pastures, or marshes ; and all its 
appurtenances, whether within the domain or without ; 
in pure and perpetual alms ; for his salvation, and that 
of his wife, Agnes de Cestria, and for the souls of his 
father and mother, his sons and his daughters, his 
brethren, his servants and friends, to hold freely for 
ever, without being subject to any exactions or 
services. This charter was subsequently confirmed, by 
others given to the monastery by his wife, Agnes, the 
daughter of William Constable Cestria, of Watton ; 
and of Roger de Lacy Constable Cestria. 

The canons and nuns inhabited buildings within the 
same enclosure, but separated from each other by a 
party wall ; and as appears from a charter of arch- 
bishop Murdac, the former were appointed to " serve 
the nuns perpetually in terrene, as well as divine 
matters." This order had just been established in 
England, by Gilbert, of Sempringham, in Lincoln- 
shire, an active and zealous ecclesiastic, who was 
afterwards canonized as a saint. The rule of this 
order is generally considered as a compound of those 
of Bennet and Augustine. The tithing of lambs, and 
the whole substance of the house, were under care of 
the nuns. Three nuns were to keep the common seal 



WATTON ABBEY. 217 

and money ; one to cut and distribute the cloth. The 
same nuns to take care of washing the clothes, and 
patching and mending them. The nuns were to be 
shut in by a ditch and wall, or fence. Entrance to the 
court prohibited. No presents or letters were to be 
sent to them. No conversation allowed between the 
canons and them. Fire not to be begged of them at 
night. No one to have admission to the nuns whilst 
they were singing the hour, or were in the refectory or 
dormitory. If any enter on business, to be in a 
number ; and to take care not to see or be seen by 
the nuns. If the grand prior enter, a number of them 
were to surround him immediately, at least three or 
four, and none to be alone with him, except to confess, 
and then, with others in sight. No nun was to be 
received compulsorily. They were to wash their own 
hoods seven times a year, but the bath was prohibited. 

The garments of the canons were to be three tunics, 
one coat of full grown lamb skins, and a white cloak, 
with furs, and hood lined with lamb skins, and two 
pair of stockings ; a pair of woollen socks, and day 
shoes, and night slippers ; as also a linen cloak, for 
divine service. At time of work they had a white 
scapulary. The prior and cellarer had boots reaching 
a little above the knees, to ride in. All the shoes of 
of the canons were of red leather, and of a moderate 
height. 

The nuns had five tunics, three for labour, and two 
large cowls to wear in the cloister, church, chapter, 
refectory, and dormitor}^ and a scapulary for labour. 



218 WATTON ABBEY. 

All had a coat of lamb skins, and a shift of coarse 
cloth, if they would, and black linen caps. All cloths 
for their hoods were black and coarse, and the same 
for their veils. "^^ 

The ladies of this establishment were numerous ; and 
in the year 1326, William de Melton, archbishop of 
York, consecrated fifty-three nuns at one time. They 
did not, however, escape censorious reflections. The 
public opinion of their conduct and morals was, that it 
was rather loose, and that a reformation was called for, 
before matters were pushed to the extremity of disso- 
lution by the cupidity of a tyrant. The estimated 
amount of the annual income possessed by the establish- 
ment at Watton, in the 26th year of Henry VIII. was 
£453. 7s. 8d., according to Speed's valuation, but only 
£360. 16s. 10-^d., according to Dugdale. Robert 
Holgate, bishop of LandafF, was commendatory prior at 
the dissolution, and surrendered it on the 9th of Decem- 
ber, 1540. He afterwards became archbishop of York. 

The site of the abbey and its venerable remains, 
were granted in the third year of Edward VI. to John, 
earl of Warwick. In the reign of Ehzabeth, we find it 
in the possession of John Farnham ; and afterwards, 
king James confirmed the abbey and manor to Sir 
Thomas Earlkyn, knight ; from whom the property 
passed into the family of Bethell, in which it yet 
continues. 

At this time the abbey exhibits no traces of its early 
erection. It is composed of brick and stone, and may 

* Fo.sbroke's British Monach. chap. lix. 



WATTON ABBEY. 219 

probably have been rebuilt in the early part of the 
Tudor period. The remains consist of the abbey, a 
large and massive building, with towers, and pointed 
arch windows, and an oriel of imposing appearance. 
The nuns' portion was of the same materials, and was 
surrounded by a range of cloisters and other buildings, 
which are now dilapidated and gone to decay ; the 
whole surrounded by a moat, which enclosed upwards 
of twenty acres of land ; one branch of which ran under 
both the abbey and nunnery, each being furnished 
with private staircases within the buildings, which 
communicated with the water ; and it was broad and 
deep enough to be navigable for a small boat.* 

The abbot's kitchen stood to the west of the abbey, 
and is now denoted by a hollow square, which is sunk 
about two feet below the present surface of the ground. 
The whole area within the moat is full of old founda- 
tions, which prove the great extent of the original 
buildings. More than two centuries ago, the materials 
of these decayed buildings were consigned to the 
corporation of Beverley, and conveyed away by them 
to repair the minster. The abbey itself has suffered 
great dilapidations, but enough yet remains to arrest 

* About the year 1790, "as the Rev. Francis Lundy, of Lockington, was 
sitting at dinner, with the late William Bethell, Esq., at Watton abbey, 
they were surprised by an extraordinary noise beneath the dining table, for 
which they could not account ; and at length they were so much annoyed by 
it, that they sent for a workman to take up the floor ; when, to their great 
astonishment, they found that an otter, which inhabited the moat underneath 
the abbey, had established her nest beneath the boards of the floor, and had 
there deposited her litter of young ones, by whose uncouth cries it was that 
the dinner party had been disturbed. — Olivek's Beverley, p. 520. 



220 WATTON ABBEY. 

the attention of the antiquary. The interior is spacious, 
and some of the apartments are decorated with tapestry 
of tolerable execution. The vaults ran probably under 
one entire wing of the building, though a part only are 
now remaining. They w^ere formed of plain groining, 
and had communication with various parts of the 
interior, as well as an external door, which opened 
into the gardens. One spacious central chamber, 
which is now closed up, extended across the whole 
building. A circular staircase is connected with this 
apartment, which extends from the summit of the 
building into the waters beneath its base."'' 

The nunnery was situated westward of the abbey, 
and is now converted into stables. It occupied about 
eleven acres ; and this space yet remains fenced, and 
bears the name of " the nuns." On the south side of 
the premises, are the remains of strong walls of stone, 
terraces, and earthworks, which were probably erected 
during the civil wars, as the abbey w^as occupied as a 
garrison by the royalists at that period ; and it is said 
by tradition to have been battered by Cromwell, from 
Barf, or Barrow hill, which is, however, about two miles 
distant. 

Tradition reports that a subterranean passage existed 
in old times, between the convent and a holy well, at 
Kilnwick, called " the Lady's well,'' and that the nuns 
performed many wonderful cures by the agency of this 
miraculous water. A chamber is pointed out in the 
abbey, said to have been the scene of a most atrocious 

* Oliver's Beverley, p. 530. 



WATTON ABBEY. 221 

murder, during the civil wars. This room is faced 
throughout with a strong wainscoting of pannelled oak; 
in one side of which is a closet door, corresponding so 
exactly with the wainscoting as not to be observed ; 
and was doubtless in its primitive state a secret 
entrance, which opened by a private spring, and com- 
municated with a narrow staircase, still in existence, 
which descended into the moat or river, which runs 
underneath the building. A lady of distinction, so says 
the legend, during the civil wars, secreted herself in 
this room, with her infant child, jewels, and other 
property, to a great amount. Her retreat having 
been discovered, a few soldiers, at dead of night, 
proceeding in a boat to the staircase which led to her 
chamber, entered it by the secret door, and cruelly 
murdered both the lady and her child, taking posses- 
sion of the valuables, and conveying away the bodies 
by the secret staircase. This legend has given rise to 
a belief that the wainscoted room is haunted. The 
lady appears without her head, bearing the infant in 
her arms, and placing herself at the foot of the bed, 
stands for some time, motionless as a statue, and 
then suddenly disappears. 



222 



ri^IiiT0t0iT |prx0r|) 



This Priory was founded early in tlie reign of king 
Stephen, by Walter de Gant, for canons regular of 
the Augustine order ; he gave to it the churches of 
Filey and Grinton, in Swaledale. Others of the 
nobility were liberal in their donations, and tofts and 
crofts, carucates, oxgangs, and acres, manors and 
churches, were soon added to the possessions of the 
establishment.'" The building is supposed to have 
been completed about 1114, which was the year in 
which the order of St. Augustine was introduced into 
England ; and the church was dedicated to St. Mary. 

Stepen, in the 15th year of his reign, granted that 
the prior and canons should have all kinds of chattels, 
of all felons and fugatives, within the town and pre- 
cincts of Bridlington ; with all kinds of wreck of the 



* Besides tlie clmrclies of Filey and Grinton, given by the founder, 
Adelard, the Venator, gave the churches of Galmpton and Willerby; 
Galfrid, the Dispensator, the church of Boynton ; William Fitz Nigel, the 
church of Flamborough ; Everard, the son of Peter de Kos, the church of 
Atwick ; Walter de Ver, the church of Sproatley ; Eustace Fitz John, the 
churches of Scalby and East Cowton ; Robert de Percy, the church of 
Carnaby, &c. William and Eichard de Otteringham gave the church of 
Otteringham ; and king Henry IV. gave the church of Scarborough, with all 
its chapels. This house had also the church of Fraisthorpe, and medieties 
of the churches of Beeford and Thwing, and some churches in Lincolnshire. — 
Lawton's Religious Houses of Yorkshire, p.p. 76, 77. 



BRIDLINGTON PRIORY. 223 

sea, which should in future happen between EarFs 
Dyke, and Flamborough Dyke. 

On the 6th December, 1200, king John granted " to 
God and the church of St. Mary of Bridhngton, and 
the canons there serving God, a fair in every year at 
Bridhngton, to continue two days ; to wit upon the eve 
of the assumption of the blessed Mary, and on the day 
the same festival, and one market to be held there 
every week, viz., on Saturday.'^ 

Among the most distinguished of the priors was 
Kobert, surnamed the scribe, from his having written 
and compiled many great works. Leland, who visited 
the monastery in 1534, looked over his writings, then 
preserved in the library of the priory ; and informs us 
that he was interred in the cloister, near the door of 
chapter-house, with this inscription on his tomb ; — 
B^ohertus Cognomento Scriba, Quartus Prior. He was 
prior about A.D. 1160. 

The pirates of Norway having made a descent on 
the northern coast, and plundered the abbey and 
vicinity of Whitby, in 1164, the priories of Bridlington 
and Guisborough were fortified with walls and ditches, 
so that they were enabled to resist an enemy, and 
stand a few days' siege. 

William of Newbiirgh, a celebrated monkish histo- 
rian, who flourished in the reign of king John, was a 
native of Bridlington ; but having become a canon of 
Newburgh, took his surname from thence. His prin- 
cipal historical work commences with the Norman 
conquest, and ends with the year 1197. 



224 BRIDLINGTON PRIORY. 

In the time of pope Innocent III. tlie canons com- 
plained "that the archdeacon of Richmond going to 
one of their churches, had travelled with 97 horses, 
21 dogs, and 3 hawks, trihus avihus senator iis; whereby 
he consumed more of their provisions in one hour than 
would have maintained their house for a long time. 
On which his holiness commanded that ecclesiastics 
should, for the time to come, travel with no greater 
retinue than is allowed by the statutes of the council 
of Lateran ; which limits the train of an archbishop to 
50 horses, a bishop to 30, a legate to 25, and an arch- 
deacon to seven. 

John de Bridlington was confirmed prior, July 13th, 
1366. He was born at this place about the year 1319 ; 
and received his education at Oxford, where he became 
honourably distinguished by his talents and acquire- 
ments ; but the bent of his mind was chiefly towards 
divination. On his return he entered himself a canon 
regular of his native town, of which he became sub- 
prior ; and afterwards attained to the highest dignity 
it had to bestow. He led a life of the strictest piety 
and integrity ; insomuch that, after his death, which 
happened in 1397, he was accounted a saint, and 
miracles were said to be performed at his tomb. The 
archbishop of York, assisted by the bishops of Durham 
and Carlisle, performed the ceremony of the translation 
of the relics of the saint to a magnificent shrine in the 
priory church, to which many pilgrimages were made. 

The celebrated alchymist, Sir George Ripley, was a 
canon in this monastery, where he continued some time, 



BRIDLINGTON PRIORY. 225 

and devoted himself to the study of alchemy ; he 
travelled into Italy, and employed nearly twenty years 
in abstruse and chemical researches to find the philo- 
sopher's stone. He died in the year 1490. 

William Wode or Wolde was installed June 17th, 
1531. Having engaged in Aske's rebellion, he was 
attainted of high treason, and executed at Tyburn, in 
the year 1537. On the defection of the prior, the 
possessions of the monastery were declared to be 
forfeited to the king ; yet the dissolution of the con- 
vent did not take place until the following year. The 
gross annual revenue at that time, was £682. 13s. 9d. 
and the net, £547. 6s. ll^d. 

The monastery, with its contiguous offices, was de- 
molished in the spring of 1539. 

The situation of the priory was very pleasani:, in a 
fertile spot, sheltered on the north and north-east by 
the high lands of the Wolds, commanding an extensive 
view over the plain of Holderness on the south, with a 
splendid marine prospect on the east. 

The only remains at present existing, are those of 
the church and gateway ; this last building stands 
about one hundred and twenty yards westward of the 
church, and was the boundary of the precincts of the 
convent on that side. This gateway is called the 
Bayle, and from the style appears to have been erected 
in the fourteenth century ; probably about 1 388, when 
Richard XL granted license to the canons to enclose 
and fortify the priory. The eastern front consists of 
one wide arch, which does not appear at any period to 
Q 



226 BRIDLINGTON PRIORY. 

have been provided with gates ; the western, of a lofty 
arch, above the carriage way, and a smaller one, or 
postern, for the convenience of foot passengers. Both 
these entrances have been protected by massive gates, 
the hooks of which still retain their situations. The 
vaulted roof of the gateway is a fine specimen of the 
art ; the ribs are of freestone, and the angular compart- 
ments of chalk, which, on account of its lightness, was 
much used in this kind of roofing. The cross springers 
rest on four sculptured figures in monastic habits ; one 
is represented as elevating a shield charged with a 
dagger ; another is in the act of playing on the bag- 
pipe ; the remaining two present no peculiarity. On 
each side of the thoroughfare is a strong and gloomy 
apartment ; that on the north is used as a place of 
temporary confinement for delinquents, and is called 
the Kitcote ; a name probably coeval with the build- 
ing, the place appearing to have originally been in- 
tended for its present use. Above are small chambers ; 
and over the whole an apartment now occupied as the 
national school-room for boys ; except a part of the 
southern end, which has been separated, and fitted up 
as a town hall, wherein the public business of the town 
is transacted. The church was formerly a noble edifice, 
part of it appropriated to the parish, the rest to the 
convent. The portion remaining is the nave of the 
priory church, now converted into a nave and chancel, 
with aisles. The west front displays a centre flanked 
by towers, which have been reduced to the level of the 
roof of the nave. The principal entrance, or great 



BRIDLINGTON PRIORY. 227 

western door, is highly ornamented ; and some parts of 
the exquisite foilage, with which it was once adorned, 
is still in good preservation. The smaller entrance, in 
the southern tower, has likewise been lavishly orna- 
mented. Each of these entrances is surmounted by a 
canopy, enriched with crockets ; above the arch, and 
on each side of the principal doorway, is a small niche, 
for the reception of a statue ; and a range of small 
projecting pedestals, fifty-eight in number, each pro- 
vided with a canopy, richly adorned with crockets and 
tracery, and calculated for figures nearly three feet in 
height, extends across the western front, in a line with 
the springs of the arches. The northern angle, usually 
called the old steeple, is in a totally different style of 
architecture from the part already described, apparently 
a hundred years earlier. It has formerly been entered 
by a circular arched doorway, now walled up. On the 
west and north sides, at a considerable height from the 
ground, are three niches, capable of accommodating sta- 
tues five feet in height. Above the principal entrance 
is a larger pointed window, of seven lights, divided by 
two transoms. This front has been restored, and the 
windows fitted with stained glass, at intervals, between 
1849 and 1854 ; so that some idea of its ancient mag- 
nificence may be formed from its present appearance. 
The porch on the north side of the nave has been 
an elegant specimen of the architecture of the four- 
teenth century, with clustered columns and richly 
foliated capitals, and the arches adorned with rose- 
buds in the hollow mouldings. 



228 BRIDLINGTON PRIORY. 

The windows in the lower tier, on the north of the 
church, are in a style differing from any of the others, 
and evidently belong to the early part of the thirteenth 
century, being long, narrow, sharp pointed, and em- 
bellished with light and elegant shafts. These win- 
dows are placed in pairs, except in two instances, in 
which they are single. 

The east end having been piled from the ruins of 
the monastery, exhibits no specimen of style, and is 
supported by two enormous buttresses, as solid and 
unsightly as well could be reared. 

Most of the windows on the south side are lofty 
and ramified, in the manner of the great west 
window. 

At the south-west angle of the church is a paltry 
octagonal turret, of brick work, erected about the 
middle of the last century ; a most contemptible affair, 
in the most wretched taste. 

The interior of the church presents a dilapidated 
appearance ; about a third part of it is fitted up 
for public worship, and will accommodate about one 
thousand people. The centre is divided from the side 
aisles by ten pointed arches, resting on a union of 
cylinders, and on the south side some of them rest on 
panelled piers. On the right and left, immediately 
within the principal entrance, are two ^enormous pillars, 
which appear to have been raised for the support of 
two western towers, of which no vestige above the roof 
of the church now remains. In the chancel are four 
pillars, equal in magnitude to the principal ones at the 



BRIDLINGTON PRIORY. 229^ 

west end, undoubtedly raised to sustain the pressure of 
a tower in the centre of the conventual church. 

There are no monuments either remarkable for 
antiquity or beauty; the former having been destroyed 
at the period of the reformation, or since, and no 
superior modern specimens have been erected. In the 
chancel, is a remarkable long, grey slab, supposed to 
mark the place of sepulture of some one of the 
superiors of the convent. A large slab, near the font, 
has been adorned with a brass, representing a knight 
in armour, with folded hands, his head resting on a 
cushion ; each of the corners has borne a brazen 
shield ; but the whole has long ago been taken away. 
On a black stone tablet, on the opposite side of the 
font, bearing the date 1587, is the oldest legible 
inscription now remaining. In the same part of the 
church, is a large black stone coffin lid, of very early 
workmanship. 

On the enlargement of the burial-ground, towards 
the south and east, in 1812, the whole of the ground 
was found to be full of foundations of buildings, so 
that it was necessary to trench the whole of it over. 
During this process, the workmen dug up a range of 
the foundations of pillars, in a line with those which 
separate the nave from the north aisle of the church, 
and two human skeletons inclosed in vaults of free- 
stone. In the spring of 1821, about sixty paces from 
the end of the church, and four feet from the surface, 
was found a vault of squared chalk stones, placed 
edgewise, and covered by transverse ones, in which 



230 BRIDLINGTON PRIORY. 

was found a skeleton. At different distances, were 
found four other vaults deprived of their coverings, all 
containing bones. A white stone tablet was found at 
the same time, about three feet in length ; round the 
margin was part of an inscription, recording the 
sepulture of Eobert Charder, a canon of the monastery. 
The basements of two of the transept pillars were also 
dug up ; and a little southward of the intersection of 
the nave, was discovered a coffin of freestone, covered 
by chalk-stones. The hollow of the coffin was more 
than six feet in length, and yet remains in the place 
where it was found. The following inscription, found 
on the spot, cut on the margins of two chalk-stone 
tablets, determines the coffin to have contained the 
remains of Robert Brystwyk, the twenty-fifth prioj : — 

Jit jaat Vm^ pM. iiistirgli q|0. to. jmr tar Im q. Mt 
um. to. p.tf C4C. n0nagesim0 1||. «. ait jirict. h. Jimen. 

Many of the stones from the ruins of the monastic 
buildings were used in the rebuilding of a pier at 
Bridlington Quay, in the time of queen Elizabeth ; 
and many of the chalk-stones were burnt into lime. 
Enough, however, yet remains, aided a little by the 
imagination, to assure us, that when in its complete 
state, the monastery was an extensive establishment, 
and the church a building of great bulk and grandeur. 



231 



|%kl^am 3|ri0rg. 



The ruins of this abbey are situated in a pleasant 
valley on the eastern bank of the Derwent, about six 
miles from Malton, and close to the Kirkham station, 
on the York and Scarborough railway. Here Walter 
de Espec and his wife, Adeline, in 1121, founded a 
priory of canons regular of the order of St. Augustine, 
in honour of the Holy Trinity, to commemorate a fatal 
accident which embittered their declining years. Sir 
Walter had an only son, also called Walter, a comely 
youth of great activity of mind and body, who took 
much delight in riding swift horses. In following his 
favourite diversion one day, galloping rapidly towards 
Frithby, near Kirkham, his horse stumbled near a 
stone cross, and he was thrown to the ground with 
such violence, that he instantly expired. The incon- 
solable father, deprived, by this melancholy accident, 
of a darling son, the heir apparent of his large estates, 
and desiring to devote a part of his substance to the 
service of God, consulted William, his uncle, then 
rector of Garton, who advised him to make " Christ 
his heir," by building and endowing three religious 
houses. In pursuance of this recommendation, he 
converted one of his chief mansions, at Kirkham, into 
this priory, and endowed it with seven churches and 



232 KIRKHAM PRIORY. 

their impropriations ; the profits of which, with the 
rents, and other possessions in Yorkshire and Northum- 
berland, amounted yearly to 1000 marks. ''^ The lands, 
rents, &c., of this house, lay in Burton, Bergerthorpe, 
Brewethorpe ; the church of Berythorpe, Billesdale, 
Bolton in Northumberland, BoUum ; the church of 
Cald Overton, Carr-upon-Tweed, in Northumberland ; 
the church of Cramburn, Derwent, Duggleby, Frithby, 
Fudeston ; the church of Garton ; turbary in the 
forest of Galtres ; free warren in Grannum, Harum, 
Helmsley-Blackmoor, and the church there ; the church 
of Hildeston in Holeton, in Northumberland ; Hoton, 
Bardolf, Howsom in Kirkby, Crendale, with its church ; 
the manor, parochial church, &c., in Kirkham, in 
Lengeby, Lynton, Melthorpe in Bucross, Myndrom, the 
church of Newton in Glendale, Pockley ; the church of 
Ross ; land in Sixtendale, Sledmere, Sproxton near 
Hamelac, Swinton ; the manor of Titelington ; lands 
in Turkilsby and Werch ; the town of Whitwell ; 
lands in Westhue, Winstome or Wiston ; free warren 
in Woodhouse, and certain houses in York.f 

Towards the aid granted to Henry III. on the mar- 
riage of his eldest daughter, the priory of Kirkham 
paid £5. 

John Kilnwick was the last prior ; he had a pension 
allowed him of £50. per annum, subsequent to the 
dissolution. 

The house was surrendered in the 26th of Henry 

* Burton's Mon. Ebor., p. 373. 
t Ibid. pp. 374, 377. 



KIRKHAM PRIORY. 233 

VIII., and was then valued in the gross at £300. 16s. 
6d., and the clear income at £269. 5s. 9d.* 

The site was granted 32nd of Henry VIII. to Henry 
Knyvet and Ann his wife ; but in the 3rd of Edward 
VI. it was transferred to the earl of Rutland, a descen- 
dant of the founder, who held it of the king in capite, 
by military service ; and in the 5th of Elizabeth he 
obtained permission from the crown to alienate this 
manor, with those of Billsdale, Stiperlow, and Rievaux, 
to Edward Jackman and Richard Lambert, whence 
they have descended to different possessors. 

The situation of the ruins is beautiful, almost close 
to the river Derwent, in a pleasant, though narrow 
valley, warm and low ; the hills, woods, and waters 
around forming many pleasing pictures. Across the 
river is a bridge of three arches ; on the opposite side 
to the ruins is the Kirkham railway station ; a little 
below the bridge the river is crossed by a dam, for 
purposes of navigation, thus giving the stream all the 
fullness and smoothness of a canal, with the graceful 
windings of a natural river. 

The principal part of the priory which remains is 
the gateway, close to the turnpike road ; it is highly 
beautiful, and apparently of the age of Edward I. 
The archway is slightly pointed, and surmounted by a 
large pediment, crocketted, and terminating in a finial. 
In the upper part are two windows, of two lights 
each, with trefoil heads, and ornamental tracery in 

* Cole, in his MSS, says, here were at the suppression — Monks, 17 ; lead 
30 fodder ; bells, 7 ; plate, 442 ounces. 



234 KIRKHAM PRIORY. 

the sweep of the arch. Each window, and the spaces 
between, have crocketted pediments, and in the 
spandrils are four shields of arms, viz., three chev- 
ronels, three hons passant guardant, three water 
bougets, the arms of the priory, and checquee. 

Near the windows are two more shields ; one has 
three Catherine wheels, the other three chaplets, over 
all four bars ; lower down, in a line with the top of 
the pediment, are four other shields, bearing a bend, 
three water bougets, the same repeated, and a cross 
florj. The finish of this edifice was quatrefoil panel- 
ing, now much damaged. Between the windows are 
two niches, with statues partly mutilated, one having 
lost the whole of its head, the other a part of it. 
Another niche has the image of St. Peter, with the 
keys in his left hand, and a figure of the church in his 
right. Other niches contain — Pilate sitting in judg- 
ment ; a figure with a rough stafl* ; St. George slaying 
the dragon ; and two figures, a bigger and a less, 
probably David and Goliah. There are other niches 
now empty. The buttresses which adorned this build- 
ing were very handsome ; one remains, having an 
elegant pierced pinnacle, crocketted. Gent, the histo- 
rian, says, in the year 1733, part of the house of 
entertainment for pilgrims was standing. On the 
other side was the porter's lodge ; near to which, some 
part of the building, under curious arched work, had 
been converted into an alehouse ; but it was then de- 
molished. Within the gate was a small chapel, near the 
great church, repaired for the use of the parishioners. 



KIRKHAM PRIORY. 235 

bj Madam Frances Crowther, the lady of the manor, 
who also repaired the cross near the priory gate ; the 
three steps and stem of which yet remain. 

On the front of a farmhouse, on the opposite side 
of the road to the gateway, are two effigies carved in 
stone ; one of them has a horn, supposed by some, 
from that circumstance to be king Ulphus. On the 
breast of one is a shield, bearing three chaplets ; the 
other bears a blank shield. 

Southward of the gate are the remains of the priory 
buildings ; the garden, now occupied as an orchard, 
the cellars, now broken down ; over these cellars was a 
spacious hall, or dining-room. Over the entrance into 
the garden are some remains of a cloister, with an ash 
tree, garlanded with ivy, growing above, its roots inter- 
twining and twisting among the masonry in a singularly 
grotesque manner. Some few fragments of wall are 
to be seen among the trees beyond ; one of them, a 
large mass of masonry, thickly clad with ivy. 

The only part of the church remaining is the east 
end of the chancel, of the most exquisite design and 
workmanship ; it is of fine white stone, the mouldings 
and carvings quite fresh. If this fragment, and the 
gateway, may be taken as specimens of the whole 
fabric, the priory of Kirkham, when complete, has 
been a most magnificent building. 

A tower curiously covered with ivy, is said to have 
been blown down by a high wind, in 1782 ; of this no 
trace remains. The whole of the site of the church is 
now grass, and the materials have been so completely 



236 KIRKHAM PRIORY. 

cleared away, that the foundations cannot be traced 
with anything like accuracy. 

Among the eminent men buried in the church of the 
priory were the following : — 

William de Ros, son of Robert de Ros ; Robert de 
Ros, son of William ; buried in a marble tomb, on the 
south side. William, son of Robert de Ros, interred 
in a marble tomb, on the north side. William, son of 
the last WilHam, deposited in a stone mausoleum, near 
the grand altar on the south side. These were all 
powerful barons and patrons of the priory. Ralph, 
lord Grey stock, was buried in the chancel before the 
altar, in 1487. 

Though the ruins of Kirkham are but of small 
extent, they are not without interest to the antiquary, 
the artist, or the tourist ; the beauty of their situation, 
the legend attached to the foundation of the priory, 
and the elegance of the remaining fragments, combine 
to throw a charm over the spot, which is not possessed 
by some ruins of greater extent. 



237 



S^triff-JiHttnit Castle. 

The village and castle of SherfF-Hutton stand upon 
an eminence, commanding fine views of Ryedale, the 
forest of Galtres, the vale of York, and the Wold 
region ; at a distance of ten miles from York, an equal 
distance from Malton, and eight miles from Easing- 
v^^old. 

At the time of Domesday survey, the domain was 
in the hands of William Mallet, who held here seven 
carucates of land which he had bought of Sprot for ten 
marks of silver ; Sprot himself holding other seven ; 
Nigil Fossard held three carucates, which he gave up 
to king William. 

Bertram de Bulmer, in the reign of king Stephen, 
built a castle here, and the place received the distinc- 
tive appellation of Sheriff-Hutton, from the ofiice held 
by Bertram, who was sheriff of Yorkshire during the 
whole reign of Stephen, and nine years of the reign of 
Henry II. 

In the civil war between Stephen and the empress 
Matilda, the castle was seized for the king, by Alan, 
earl of Brittany and Richmond. 

The manor and castle were afterwards given by 
Bertram, a descendant of the founder, in marriage 
with his only daughter, Emma, to Jeffrey de Neville. 



238 SHERIFF-HUTTON CASTLE. 

Ralph de Neville, the great earl of Westmorland, re- 
built, enlarged, and strongly fortified the castle. It 
was this earl who deserted Richard II. when the sun 
of his prosperity was setting, and attached himself to 
Bolingbroke, afterwards king Henry IV. He was one 
of the nobles who joined him on his first landing at 
Ravenspurne, and continued faithful to him during his 
whole reign. It is this earl whose character is 
portrayed in the historical plays of Shakespere. His 
crafty betrayal of archbishop Scrope, when in arms, 
at Shipton on the forest, (a place within sight of his 
castle here,) shews him to have been an adept in the 
art of deception.''^ 

The noble family of Neville held possession of the 
manor and estate until the death of Richard earl of 
Warwick, surnamed the king maker, who was slain at 
the battle of Barnett, A.D. 1471, when all the castles, 
parks, and manors, that he had, were seized into the 
victor's hands. This castle and manor were granted 
by Edward IV., with the confirmation of an act of 
parliament, to Richard, duke of Gloucester, his brother, 
who had married Ann, the daughter of Warwick. 
After the death of his brother, king Edward, Richard 
arrested Anthony Woodville, earl Rivers, and sent him 
a prisoner to this castle, whence he was shortly after- 
wards removed to Pontefract castle, and there be- 
headed, along with lord Grey. After Richard had 
cleared his way to the throne, by the murder of his 

* For a full account of this event, see the Author's " Battles and 
Battle Fields of Yorkshire." — Art. Haslewood. 



SHERIFF-HUTTON CASTLE. 239 

brother's children, he imprisoned, in this castle, Edward 
Plantagenet, son of his brother, the duke of Clarence, 
earl of Warwick, and Elizabeth, eldest daughter of his 
late brother, king Edward. In which state of confine- 
ment they continued until the battle of Bosworth 
Field, A.D. 1483, in which Richard was slain ; when 
destiny conducted Elizabeth to a throne, and the 
unfortunate Warwick to the block. Shortly after the 
accession of Henry VII., Sir Eobert Willoughby was 
dispatched to Sheriff-Hutton, with orders to remove 
Warwick to the tower, and to conduct the princess 
Elizabeth to London, to meet Henry, and there 
celebrate her nuptials. This marriage took place in 
London, January 18th, 1486, with a greater appear- 
ance of universal joy than had attended either Henry's 
first entrance or his coronation. 

The unfortunate Warwick, who had from his earliest 
youth been shut up from the commerce of men, and 
was ignorant of the most common affairs of life, had 
fallen into a state of simplicity which made him 
susceptible of any impression. A more unlikely object 
to rouse the vengeance of the tyrant Henry could not 
well be imagined ; yet this prince, the last male de- 
scendant of the house of York, on the most trivial 
pretences, was arraigned, condemned, and executed, 
November 21st, 1499. 

This castle and manor continued in the king's hands, 
until granted to the duke of Norfolk ; upon whose 
death, it again reverted to the crown. During the 
insurrection in the north, the duke resided in this 



240 SHERIFF-HUTTON CASTLE. 

castle, from about 1489 to 1500. It afterwards was 
the residence of Henry Fitzroj, duke of Richmond, 
natural son of Henry VIH., who was appointed by his 
father to be lieutenant-general of the north, and 
warden of the Scottish marches, at a very early age, 
with a council to assist him in the administration of 
public affairs. He is supposed to have quitted this 
castle about the year 1530. 

Leland, who saw the castle in its complete state, 
gives the following description of it : — 

"From Hinderskelfe (Castle Howard) to Shirhuton 
Castle four miles, mostly highe grounde. A mile on 
this side of Shirhuton, I left on the right hand, Mr. 
Gower's ancient Manor place (Stittenham.) The Castle 
of Shirhuton, as I learned there, was builded by Rafe 
Nevil of Raby, the first earl of Westmorland of the 
Neviles ; and I heard that in hys time he buildid or 
greatly augmented, or repayr^d three castells byside. 
Ther is a base court with houses of office besides the 
entering. The Castell itself in front is not ditched, 
but it standeth m loco utcunque edito. I marked in 
the front part of the first area of the castell three 
great and high Towres, of the which the Gatehouse 
was the middle. In the second area be five or six 
towres, and the statlie stair up to the Haul is very 
magnificent, and so is the Haul itself, and all the residue 
of the House ; insomuch that I saw no house in all the 
north so like a princely lodging. This castell is well 
maintained by reason that the late Duke of Norfoll^ie 
lay theare ten yeares, and sins then the Duke of 



SHERIFF-HUTTON CASTLE. 241 

Richmond. Tlier is a park by it. I learned that 
the stone of which the castell was buildid was brought 
from the quarry at Terrington a two miles distant." 

The castle and manor continued in possession of the 
crown till they were granted to Charles, prince of 
Wales, afterwards king Charles I. At that time, the 
castle was in a ruinous state ; and, finally, its walls 
were destroyed by workmen employed for that pur- 
pose, and not by the regular decay of time, or the 
violence of war. It afterwards came into possession of 
the family of the Ingrams, in which it still remains ; 
Charles Meynell Ingram, Esq., of Temple Newsam, 
being the present owner. 

The ruins stand on a hill, to the south of the village, 
and consist of the remains of four large corner towers, 
with a part of the warder^s tower over the entrance on 
the east side. The towers are of considerable eleva- 
tion, especially that at the south-west corner, which is 
one hundred feet in height ; square, massive, perpen- 
dicular, and plain, without buttresses, or architectural 
ornaments of any kind. In the base of this tower, is 
a vault or dungeon, arched over with stone, forty feet 
in length, by twenty in breadth, having an entrance 
from the south, and a window to the west ; the walls 
are eight feet thick. This place is now used as a 
shelter for cattle. Above, is another room, arched in 
a similar manner, and in a tolerable state of preserva- 
tion. The rooms above are broken down, and in a 
state of ruin. The circular stair which led to the top 
of the tower, has been entirely taken away ; and the 

R 



242 SHERIFF-HUTTON CASTLE. 

hewn sandstone around many of the windows or loop 
holes, has been forcibly torn out. The stone chiefly 
employed is of a brown colour, of a gritty, ferruginous 
kind, yet durable, as hardly any parts of it have 
perished. The north-west tower is in a somewhat 
similar state to the other, except that all the rooms are 
broken down, and it seems a little inferior in height. 
The north-east tower is the strongest and most massive, 
and contained an arched vault at the base, similar to 
the first mentioned ; above which, is another room, 
now used as a pigeon cote. The south-east tower 
differs in appearance from any of the others, being 
supported at the outward angles by strong buttresses, 
with a projecting parapet above. Between this corner 
and the south-west tower, the wall has projected and 
formed an obtuse angle. The principal entrance has 
been on the east side; the not very lofty pointed arch 
of the gateway yet remains, with four shields carved 
on stone above it. The inner area of the castle is 
overgrown with grass, and is partly used as a stack- 
yard, and partly as a pasture. The castle has not been 
moated in front, and only partly on the northern side ; 
on the southern, are the remains of a double moat, 
about two hundred yards in length, each division being 
about five yards wide, and full of water ; these meet at 
an acute angle on the west, with another fosse, partly 
filled with water from the north side of the castle. 

The park, formerly belonging to this castle, was 
sold in the reign of Charles II., to Edward Thompson, 
Esq., in whose family it yet continues. 



243 



Slmgsljg €milt. 



At a distance of nine miles from Malton and 
twenty-three from York, is the village and ruined 
castle of Slingsby ; the Thirsk and Malton railway 
pasges close to the village on the north. The country 
around is rich and beautiful, presenting prospects of 
considerable extent ; the valley, rising with gentle un- 
dulations on the south, towards the densely wooded 
domains of Castle Howard and the Howardian hills ; 
on the north, ascending towards the towns of Kirby 
Moorside, Pickering, and the eastern moorlands. The 
village presents nothing remarkable, except retaining 
that memorial of ancient days, its maypole. 

This domain (now the property of the earl of 
Carlisle) was, at the time of the Norman conquest, a 
berewic of the manor of Hovingham, then in the 
possession of Orm, and was mostly in wood. Shortly 
after that event, it was given, by the conqueror, to 
Roger de Mowbray, who is supposed to have founded 
a castle here. Camden says, " the ancient family of 
the Mowbrays had, for many generations, a castle 
here ; the ruins of which are still visible." The estates 
of that powerful family were seized into the king's 
hands after the battle of Boroughbridge, in 1322 ; 
where John de Mowbray, one of the adherents of the 



244 SLINGSBY CASTLE. 

earl of Lancaster, was taken prisoner, and afterwards 
beheaded. In 1838, we find that Ralph de Hastings 
had license to make a castle of his house at Slingsby ; 
and to impark his woods at Slingsby, Frith, Colton, 
Surkilwood, and other lands which had formerly be- 
longed to the Mowbray family ; so that, in all proba- 
bility, he had obtained a portion of the confiscated 
estates by grant, before the Mowbrays were again 
restored to favour by Edward HI. Subsequently, the 
estate fell into the possession of the family of Howard, 
in which it yet continues. 

The castle of the Mowbrays at this place was pro- 
bably only a forest lodge ; that of Hastings might 
aspire to the dignity of a manor house ; not intended 
for a fortress, or permanent place of defence ; being 
built on a plain, and possessing no advantages of situa- 
tion. One, or probably both of the ancient buildings, 
has been surrounded by a most formidable moat, or 
dry ditch, which has been no less than thirty feet deep 
and ninety wide ; three sides of it are now in pasture, 
and the fourth, towards the village, is converted 
into gardens. There does not appear to have been 
any contrivance for filling it with water. 

The castle was partly rebuilt by Sir C. Cavendish, in 
1603, but never finished ; and this is the building that 
now remains ; probably much in the same state as left 
by him, with the exception of a few broken arches, and 
the mellow tints and venerable aspect bestowed by time. 

As regards external walls, Slingsby may rank among 
the most perfect of our Yorkshire castles ; but it has 



SLINGSBY CASTLE. 245 

not the historic consequence, massive strength, and 
gloomy majesty, which give such an interest to the old 
Anglo-Norman edifices. The area of the castle is 
about forty yards in length, by about thirty in breadth ; 
and the greatest part of the vralls are forty feet in 
height, divided into three stories. The basement, 
which has been appropriated to the kitchen, cellars, 
store-rooms, and other offices, has been strongly 
arched ; in the larger rooms the arches are groined, 
and supported by octagonal pillars. The kitchen is 
easily distinguished by its two large fire-places, each 
twelve feet wide ; these do not appear to have been 
much used, as the stones bear very slight tokens of the 
action of fire. This room is eighteen yards in length, 
by nine in breadth ; the arches above it are broken 
down. Some of the other offices are now used as stalls 
for cattle, and other farming purposes. The next 
story has been intended for the state apartments of 
the lord of the mansion, his family, and guests ; the 
rooms have been on a large scale, and the windows 
and doors of magnificent proportions ; some of the 
former being nearly seven feet wide, by twelve in 
height, divided into four lights by a slender muUion 
and transom. The walls are seldom more than three 
feet in thickness in the higher parts ; in some places 
gracefully ornamented with ivy. The main entrance 
has been on the east of the building ; it is now partly 
broken down. The tops of the windows and doorways 
are decorated on the outside with Tudor trefoil work, 
and a moulding of the same kind runs round the 



246 SLINGSBY CASTLE. 

building at the top of the second story. At all the 
corners of the castle, and in every story, is a little 
room, about five feet by four, and twelve in height, 
arched over, with two small holes of sixteen inches 
square for windows, on the sides looking outward. 
There are no fewer than twelve of these places, all 
exactly alike, with room in them for only one inmate, 
or two at most. The whole building is of oolitic lime- 
stone ; no part of it has perished by exposure to the 
weather, the carvings and ornaments being yet sharp 
and perfect. It is a ruin of more than ordinary 
elegance, but unfortunately it has no history ; none of 
those tragic scenes have been enacted within its walls 
which give such an interest to other places, while a 
stone remains to point out their whereabouts. The 
ruins, though not preserved with scrupulous care, are 
not defaced by any wanton desecration ; nor have they 
at any period yielded their hewn stones, and carved 
mouldings, to ornament the cottages of the village ; 
and though not an interesting landmark in history, it 
will long continue a prominent feature in the land- 
scape. 



247 



Craike Castk. 

About three miles from Easingwold, perched on the 
top of a hill, stands Craike Castle, commanding an 
extensive view over the wide and fertile vale of York. 
Drake, in his Eboracum, supposes that the Romans had 
a castrum ea^ploratorum upon this hill : the situation is 
strongly in favour of the conjecture ; but as no Roman 
road has been traced directly to the place, nor any 
foundations, entrenchments, coins, or other indicia of 
their occupation, found in the locality, we must dismiss 
it as untenable. 

The earliest authentic mention we have of Craike is 
in 685, when it was given, with the lands around it, 
by Egfrid, king of Northumberland, to St. Cuthbert, in 
order that the saint might have a resting place in his 
journeys between Lindisfarne and York. About which 
time, he is said to have founded a monastery here ; 
which continued to flourish until the invasion of the 
country by the Danes, 

In 882, after the rude Danes had ravaged Holy 
Isle, and burned the monastery there, the monks fled 
forth, bearing with them the bones of their patron, 
the sainted Cuthbert ; and for a while, the monastery 
of Craike, then ruled by an abbot of the name of Geve, 
was their resting place. It is probable, that, shortly 



248 CRAIKE CASTLE. 

afterwards, the monastery was entirely ruined by the 
Danish marauders. 

At the time of the Domesday survey, it was in the 
possession of WilHam, bishop of Durham ; and there 
was a church and priest here. A strong castle was 
built upon the hill, soon after the Conquest, by some of 
the bishops of Durham ; most probably Hugh Pudsay, 
the sixth of the Norman prelates, who was a great 
builder. Of this building no well ascertained traces 
remain. 

Leland, writing in the reign of Henry VIH., says : — 
" There remaineth at this time small show of any old 
castle that hath been here. Ther is a Haul with other 
offices, and a great stable vaulted with stone of a 
meetly ancient building. The great square tower that 
is thereby, as on the toppe of the hill, and supplement 
of loggings is very fair, and was erected totally by 
Neville, bishop of Durdome. Ther is a park, and the 
circuit of the lordship is seven miles.'^ 

As bishop Neville was enthroned at Durham, April 
11th, 1438, and died July 8th, 1457, we may form 
a pretty accurate guess at the age of the present 
building. 

Singular to say, the parish of Craike, though actually 
in the centre of Yorkshire, forms part of the county of 
Durham ; and the greatest part of the land in the 
parish belonged to that see, until sold by bishop Van 
Mildert, who sat from 1826 to 1836, when he procured 
an act of parliament enabling him to dispose of it, and 
purchase another estate with the proceeds. It was 



CRAIKE CASTLE. 249 

purchased by John Richard Thompson, Esq., of Kirby 
Hall ; but is now the property of W. Waite, Esq. 

The present castle is a square building, in the Tudor 
style of architecture, four stories in height, embattled 
on the top. The greatest part of it is occupied as a 
farm-house and offices. There are no symptoms of 
decay or ruin about it, and its walls seem calculated 
yet to endure for ages. 

At the north-east corner of the hill, is a fragment of 
ruin, half buried in the earth, which may be a remnant 
of the first castle. 

What must ever give Craike its chief attraction in 
the eye of the tourist, is the beautiful and almost 
boundless prospect from the hill on which it stands ; 
embracing the vast basin watered by the rivers Swale, 
Ure, Nidd, Foss, Derwent, and Ouse. Extending on 
the north-east, to the Howardian and Hambleton hills; 
closed in, at an immense distance, by the mountains of 
Wensleydale, Craven, and the British Appenines ; 
towards the south, extending with an uninterrupted 
stretch over a fruitful and interesting country, until 
earth and sky appear to meet in the blue misty dis- 
tance ; to the east, the Yorkshire Wolds present their 
whole extent to the view; directly to the south, rises 
York minster, an object above all others conspicuous in 
the level valley in which it stands. Any attempt to 
enumerate even a few of the most interesting places 
visible would be in vain. Many an historic spot does 
the eye wander over ; many a bloody battle-field ; 
many a pleasant town, and happy rural village. 



250 



iglantr %hh^. 



The ruins of this abbey are situate about two miles 
north of the Cox wold station, on the Thirsk and Malton 
railway, in a pleasant vale at the foot of the Hamble- 
ton hills ; which effectually screen the spot from the 
cold winds of the north and east. This abbey, like the 
neighbouring structure of Rievaux, belonged to the 
Cistercians. The early history of this house is minutely 
related by Philip, the third abbot, who was elected to 
that office in 1196. From his account it appears, that, 
in the year 1134, twelve monks went forth from the 
abbey of Furness, and settled at Calder, under their 
abbot, Gerald, where they continued four years, and 
were about to commence building, when their abode 
was laid waste by a hostile incursion of the Scots. 
Upon which they fled for refuge to the mother abbey 
of Furness, but were refused admittance ; when they 
resolved to seek the advice of Thurstan, archbishop of 
York ; and were accordingly journeying thitherward, 
with nothing but their clothing and a few books, which 
were carried in a wain drawn by oxen. When they 
reached the town of Thirsk, they were pitied and 
entertained by Gundrse, widow of Nigel de Albini, 
and mother of Roger de Mowbray, who was then a 
minor, and ward of king Stephen, but soon to enter 



BYLAND ABBEY. 251 

into possession of his lands. This lady supplied their 
necessities with generous hospitality, and forbade their 
departure, engaging to provide them both with the 
means of subsistence and a place of abode. In the 
meantime, she sent them to her uncle, Robert de 
Alneto, who had been a monk at Whitby, and who 
was then living as a hermit at Hood, near Kilburn. 
There she caused them to be well and honourably 
maintained until her son Roger came to his lands. 
The sending provisions to them at Hood being attended 
with inconvenience, Roger de Mowbray, at the instance 
of his mother, gave them his cowpasture at Cambe, 
and other lands, for their support. The abbot Gerald 
died in 1142, and was buried at Hood; when Roger 
was chosen abbot in his room. In 1143, the lady 
Gundrse, with the consent of her son, bestowed on 
them the village of Byland on the Moor, since called 
Old Byland. The intention of Roger de Mowbray had 
been, that the abbey should be built near that place, 
not far from the river Rye, and contiguous to that of 
Rievaux ; " but the situation of the place rendered this 
impossible ; the two houses were too near each other 
to allow of it, for at every hour of the day and night 
the one convent could hear the bells of the other ; 
and this was unseemly, and could not in any way long 
be borne." After an abode of five years at, or near 
Old Byland, they removed to a more appropriate spot ; 
where, in 1147, they received from the same Roger 
de Mowbray, two carucates of waste land, "lying in 
the vicinity of Cuckwald, beneath the hill of Black- 



252 BYLAND ABBEY. 

how/^ He also gave them many valuable gifts, among 
which was the patronage of the churches of Thirsk, 
Hovingham, and Kirkby Moorside. The place where 
they were now settled was in the vicinity of Oldstead, 
where they built a small stone church and a cloister. 

In 1150, the abbots of Calder and Furness attempted 
to claim jurisdiction over them ; but this was resisted, 
and determined in favour of the monks of Byland, by 
the abbot of Eievaux, who was chosen judge on the 
occasion. 

In 1177, they removed again, and finally settled 
themselves on the spot where the abbey now stands ; 
and there erected a noble church, with all the usual 
conventual buildings. Henceforward their career was 
prosperous, and wealth flowed in apace upon them ; 
favoured by popes, kings, and nobles, their possessions 
became wide, and their privileges many and valuable. 

To the calm retirement of Byland, in old age and 
disgrace, did the warlike founder retreat ; and after 
having fought the holy wars in Palestine, and been 
twice at Jerusalem, took upon himself the monastic 
habit, and here ended his days ; and was buried under 
an arch on the south side of the chapter-house, near 
his mother Gundrse ; and on his tomb, was carved the 
figure of a sword. There the bones of the old warrior 
rested in peace, the dissolution of the abbey not 
afi'ecting his rest, until the year 1819 ; when Martin 
Stapylton, Esq., owner of the site of the abbey, 
having discovered the exact spot where he was buried^ 
caused the rubbish to be removed, and the bones to be 



BYLAND ABBEY. 253 

disinterred and conveyed to Myton, where they were 
a second time committed to the earth, and the sword- 
bearing tomb again placed over them. 

In this abbey, was also buried, Wymund, once a 
monk of Furness abbey, and afterwards bishop of 
the Isle of Man, an ecclesiastical warrior of the time 
of Stephen. For some time, he successfully led his 
flock on marauding expeditions against the Isles and 
coast of Scotland, and baffled all the efforts of David, 
king of that country, to take him. He was at length, 
however, defeated by a brother bishop, taken prisoner, 
and had his eyes put out. He was delivered over to 
king David, and confined for some time at lloxburgh ; 
he was afterwards permitted to retire to Byland abbey, 
where he spent the remainder of his days, frequently 
relating his exploits, and boasting that God alone had 
defeated him in battle. 

In 1322, a battle was fought here between the Scots, 
under the command of Robert Bruce, and an English 
force under king Edward II. In which, the latter 
were defeated, the king himself escaping with difficulty. 
The defences then thrown up by the English army are 
yet visible, on the ridge of the hill near Oldstead, and 
are known, among the country people, by the name of 
" camp holes."" 

Byland abbey continued to flourish until the general 
dissolution; when in the year 1540, it was surrendered 
into the hands of the agents of Henry VIIL, by John 
Leeds, the last abbot, and twenty-four monks, who all 
retired on pensions. The gross revenue, at that time, 



254 BYLAND ABBEY. 

amounted to £295. 5s. 4d. ; the landed possessions 
occupying the greater part of fifty-three townships, 
with rights and privileges extending into twenty-eight 
others. The plate, amounting to 516 ounces, with the 
bells, lead, and furniture, were seized and sold for the 
king's use. 

The site was granted, in 1546, by Henry VIII., to 
Sir A¥illiam Pickering ; it subsequently came into the 
possession of the Stapyltons, of Wighill, afterwards of 
Myton on Swale, in which family it yet remains. 

The ruins of Byland are of great extent, but not to 
be compared to those of Fountains, Kirkstall, or 
Eievaux, in any respect. The western end, northern 
side, and some other portions of the church, are all 
that now remain ; the rest of the site is a mass of 
rubbish, overgrown with bushes and weeds. The 
western front has three doorways remaining, none of 
them either wide or high ; the heads are of three 
different kind of arches ; that on the north being 
pointed, the central one a trefoil, and that on the south 
side a semicircle. Above the middle doorway, are 
nine lancet arches ; three of which open through the 
wall, and form windows. Above these, one half of a 
circular window remains, which has been of grand 
proportions, and when in its complete state, would 
admit, against the roof of the church, a glorious blaze 
of sunset light. An octagonal shaft and pinnacle alone 
remain of their original height. The north side of 
the nave, transept, and chancel, may yet be considered 
of nearly their original height. The wall of the nave 



BYLAND ABBEY. 255 

is covered with luxuriant masses of ivy, flanked by 
slightly projecting, flat buttresses, and pierced by 
eleven single, round-headed lights, the arches resting 
on slender cylindrical pillars. The buttresses termi- 
nate in a corbel table, in a line with the tops of the 
windows. The transept has four similar windows in 
its northern end, and two each on its east and west 
sides. 

Not a single pillar in the interior of the church 
remains standing ; and six feet thick of rubbish, at 
least, covers the floor, hiding the tombs of the abbots, 
nobles, and warriors, who were buried beneath ; as we 
well know that many distinguished individuals, besides 
the founder, here found their last resting-place. In an 
excavation made in the transept, subsequent to the 
removal of the bones of the founder, the bases of the 
massive columns which had supported the central 
tower, were laid bare ; the high altar was uncovered ; 
and the slab on the top, 7ft. Sin. in length, and 3ft. Sin. 
in breadth, with the usual five crosses cut on the upper 
surface, was removed to Myton. A tesselated pave- 
ment, and the two steps leading to the altar, were also 
exposed ; but the rubbish has again fallen in, and hid 
them from view. One sepulchral stone yet remains, 
fractured and defaced : it has borne an effigy, probably 
that of an abbot, as the left hand appears to have held 
a staff or croiser, which has been surmounted by a 
canopy, adorned with crockets and finials. The outer 
angles have been ornamented with shields of arms ; 
but not a fragment of the inlaying brass now remains. 



256 BYLAND ABBEY. 

A knowledge of the general arrangement of abbeys 
of this order, and a close attention to the broken lines 
of wall, marked as they are by higher mounds of 
weed-grown rubbish, aided a little by the imagination, 
and nearly the whole of the conventual buildings may 
be traced out. The cloisters, as at Fountains, have 
extended in a line south from the western end of the 
nave of the church. The quadrangle may be easily 
distinguished by its lower level ; the kitchen, by the 
remains of its fire-places, — to which the refectory was 
in close proximity. The abbot's house has been situ- 
ated at the south-east corner of the other conventual 
buildings. How much more interesting would this 
place be to the antiquary and tourist, were it cleared 
out, and preserved with the same care as the abbeys 
of Jervaux, Fountains, and Sawley ! The house for 
the entertainment of the poor, is supposed to have been 
on the west side of the road, in the orchard now 
belonging to the inn ; where a small window containing 
curious circular tracery yet remains, which may have 
been a chapel. The gateway, crossing the road from 
Byland to Kilburn, a few hundred yards west of the 
abbey, yet remains ; with some portions of the porter's 
lodge. 

Many of the cottages in the villages of Byland and 
Wass have evidently been erected from the spoils of 
the abbey ; and hewn and ornamented stones are to 
be seen in great profusion, in the fences and other 
places. A small stream of pure water, after running 
from the hills above Wass, flows round the site of the 



BYLAND ABBEY. 257 

abbey, encircling it on three sides. The hills to the 
north are clothed in hanging woods, and present some 
fine pictures of mountain scenery. 

The immediate neighbourhood of By land presents 
many objects of interest and beauty ; among which 
may be reckoned Studfold Ring, on Ampleforth Moor, 
- — a remarkable British work ; Ampleforth College, 
Gilling Castle, Coxwold, — a village possessed of one of 
the most elegant parish churches in the kingdom, 
where the earls of Fauconberg are buried, and where 
their monuments, profusely adorned with sculpture, are 
to be seen ; Shandy Hall, for seven years the residence 
of Lawrence Sterne, the author of Tristram Shandy ; 
and Newburgh Park, the seat of Sir George Wombwell, 
Bart., — a delightful spot, surrounded by woods, waters, 
and ornamental grounds of the most beautiful kind. 
The mansion occupies the site and part of the buildings 
of a priory of Augustinian canons, founded by Hoger 
de Mowbray, in 1145. The famous historiam, William 
of Newburgh, was a canon in this house, and took his 
surname from it. The church belonging to this estab- 
lishment has been completely demolished ; though the 
foundations may yet be traced, not far from the fish 
ponds. What from the beauty of its scenery, its 
history and past associations, the neighbourhood of 
Byland abbey may rank among the most interesting 
places in the county. 



258 



|lttfaait;t %hhtQ. 



In the year 1181, was founded in the valley of the 
Eye, surrounded by wild moors, steep hills, and shaggy 
woods, the abbey of Rievale, or Rievaux. Sir Walter d' 
Espec, the founder, was a Norman warrior, of gigantic 
size and prowess, and one of the English commanders 
at the battle of the Standard. The domestic bereave- 
ment, related in the account of Kirkham Priory, was 
the cause of his founding three religious houses, — 
Warden, in Bedfordshire ; Kirkham, on the Derwent ; 
and Rievaux, on the Rye. At that time, the country 
around the site of the abbey, was an uncultivated 
wilderness and tangled wood, abounding more with 
wild animals than men. To this solitary place the 
monks retired, under the government of William, who 
was their first abbot, and at once proceeded with the 
erection of the monastery, which, like all those of the 
Cistercians, was dedicated to the virgin Mary. A 
remnant of the church erected by this abbot, is 
probably remaining in the lower part of the transept, 
which has formed the nave of the original church. 
William died in 1146, and was succeeded in the 
abbacy by Maurice ; during whose rule, Walter d' 
Espec, the founder, forsaking the world, in which he 
had played a most distinguished part, retired here, and 




::il 


IjM 


i 


!|; P 




■' 1 ■ 
'1 1 

! ii , 



''%^M 



RIEVAUX ABBEY. 259 

assumed the monastic habit, which he wore for tvfo 
years before his death. On the 9th of March, 1153, 
his remains were interred at the entrance of the 
chapter-house, of the pile which his munificence had 
contributed to raise. The next, and most distinguished 
abbot of Rievaux, was JElred, who was elected in 
1160; he having previously been abbot of Revesby, 
which was a colony or offshoot from the parent abbey 
of Rievaux. He composed many historical pieces ; 
but is best known by his account of the battle of the 
Standard, fought in 1138. He died, January 12th, 
1166, and was buried at Rievaux; where his tomb, 
richly adorned with gold and silver, was to be seen a 
a short time before the dissolution of the abbey. 

The abbey was endowed with landed property to 
the amount of fifty carucates ; of which nine were 
given by the founder, twelve by the crown, twelve b}^ 
Roger de Mowbray, and six by the bishops of Durham. 
There was also an extensive pasturage for upwards of 
4000 sheep and cattle, in the neighbourhood, with free 
warren, and other privileges ; but it is singular that 
not one donation of a church or chapel occurs, so 
that their spiritual income must have been very 
small. 

The habit of the Cistercians was a white robe in the 
nature of a cassock, with a black scapular and hood ; 
their garment was girt with a girdle of wool. In the 
choir, they had a white cowl, and over it a hood, with 
a rochet hanging down before to the waist, and in a 
point behind to the calf of the leg ; and when they 



260 RIEVAUX ABBEY. 

went abroad, they wore a cowl and a great hood, all 
black, which was also the choir habit. ''^ 

The abbot of E-ievaux was head of the Cistercian 
order in England, and not unfrequently complaints 
were brought, and causes judicially decided before him; 
and at the feast given by Nevill, archbishop of York, 
on his installation, in 1464, the abbot of Rievaux 
ranked fourth in the order of precedence at the table. 

After a succession of thirty-three abbots, and an 
existence of more than four hundred years, the abbey 
was surrendered by Richard de Blyton, and twenty- 
three monks, who received pensions to the amount of 
£165. 13s. 4d. per annum, of which sum the abbot 
received £66. 13s. 4d. The gross income, at that 
time, was £315. 14s. 6., and the net, £278. 10s. 2d. 
per annum. The plate of the church, 516 ounces in 
weight ; 100 fodder of lead ; and five bells, were also 
surrendered into the hands of the king's commissioners. 

The site was granted, in exchange, by Henry YIII., 
to Thomas, lord Ross, earl of Rutland, a descendant of 
the Espec family ; from whose family it came, by 
marriage, to the duke of Buckingham, and was sold by 
the trustees of George, the second duke, in 1695, to 
Sir Charles Buncombe, an ancestor of lord Feversham, 
the present owner. 

Among the nobility buried in this abbey, besides the 
founder, were Peter de Ros, Henry le Scrope, Sir John 
Malbys, knt., and Agnes, his wife, Thomas de Ros, Sir 
John de Ros, lady Mary Ros, and many others. 

* Fosbroke's Brit. Monach., chap. LIX. 



RIEVAUX ABBEY. 261 

The ruins of the abbey are situate in a deep narrow 
valley, near the Rye, a rapid mountain stream, flowing 
from the picturesque valley of Bilsdale, and the bleak 
moors of Snilesworth. In the immediate neighbour- 
hood of the ruins, half a dozen lateral valleys open out 
their sides, and pour their babbling brooks into the 
Rye, thus presenting great variety of scenery ; and 
such are the windings of the main valley, that looking 
from the abbey, it appears on all sides surrounded by 
hills clothed in wood, rising to the level of the moors 
above ; the central point of a magnificent natural 
natural amphitheatre ; a grand framework of natural 
beauty enclosing a noble relic of ancient art. 

After passing the humble cottages of the hamlet of 
Rievaux, we enter the remains of the conventual 
church ; the nave has been destroyed down to the 
ground ; the outline of the foundations, however, may 
yet be traced, extending northward, into the garden of 
a cottage close by ; the steps of the grand entrance 
were dug up within the garden, not many years ago. 
The oldest remaining part of the church is the transept, 
which is perhaps coeval with the first foundation of 
the monastery ; the narrow, round-headed Norman 
windows, and coarser masonry, bearing unquestionable 
evidence of the period of its erection. The rest of the 
building is more modern, the arches pointed, and 
deeply moulded. A rather singular circumstance is, 
that the church, instead of standing east and west, the 
usual position, approaches more nearly to north and^ 
south, so that the choir is the south end, and the grand 



262 RIEVAUX ABBEY. 

entrance of the nave has been on the north. This 
anomaly has been produced by the nature of the 
ground, the rapid rise of the hill precluding the exten- 
sion of the church in that direction ; and by adopting 
the present plan, the body of the old church was made 
to serve as the transept of the new. The whole 
length of the church was 343 feet ; the nave being 
166 feet long, by 63 wide ; the transept, 118 feet in 
length, by 33 in breadth. The tower, of which a part 
yet remains, stood at the junction of the nave and 
transept. The best view of the choir is from a small 
hillock of rubbish, on the site of the nave ; whence, 
through the noble arch at the entrance, the whole 
series of clustered columns, and finely-moulded pointed 
arches, are unfolded before us ; the light grey hue of 
the unperishing stone, relieved by thick masses of ivy. 
The arch opening from the transept into the choir, is 
seventy-five feet high, and the circumference of each 
pillar, at the base, is thirty feet. The side aisles are 
divided from the centre by eight clustered columns on 
each side ; above, is the triforium arcade, consisting 
of fourteen arches on each side ; above which, is a 
passage along both sides of the choir, going past the 
windows. The staircases ascending to them are at 
the extreme corners of the choir ; the one at the 
south-east is now walled up ; the other is dark, owing 
to the masses of ivy having covered the windows. 
The clerestory windows are small lancet lights, four- 
teen on. each side, one bold arch enclosing every two 
of them. The centre spandrils of the treforium are 



RIEVAUX ABBEY. 263 

adorned with quatrefoils in circles sunk in the stone* 
The brackets of the columns, rising from between the 
arches of the lower arcade, are adorned with foliage, 
finely carved, yet as fresh as when first cut. The out- 
side walls of the aisles are destroyed ; on the eastern 
side, two columns remain, with flying buttresses 
projecting against the wall of the clerestory. The 
southern end of the choir has six lancet lights — three 
and three, the upper tier adorned with clustered shafts 
and lozenge mouldings ; the aisles have each two 
smaller lancet lights, one above the other. When 
complete, with its windows of stained glass, and all 
the pompous furniture and ritual of the Romish church, 
it would present a scene most gorgeously magnificent ; 
even yet, it forms one of the most splendid ruins in 
Yorkshire. The transept has only one aisle, on the 
south, divided from the other by six clustered columns, 
the groining of the eastern bay yet remaining entire. 
Three tall lancet windows at the east, and as many at 
the west end, have given hght to this part of the 
church. 

The whole of the choir and transept was cleared in 
1819, down to the floor ; when the bones of Henry le 
Scrope were exhumed from a stone cofiin, and again 
buried in Helmsley church yard. In 1821, near the 
high altar, was found part of a tesselated pavement, 
with the letters Jite Paria gl", wrought in it. It is 
now preserved in the circular temple at the south end 
of Duncombe terrace, arranged nearly as when found. 
Some fragments of stained glass were also found at the 



264 RIEVAUX ABBEY. 

same time. The earliest mention of stained glass, at 
least, in the north of England, was in the possession of 
the monks of Rievaux, about the year 1140. A large 
slab of marble, nine feet in length, has probably formed 
part of an altar, but there are no crosses cut upon it, 
nor any other marks clearly indicating its former use. 

The quadrangle adjoins the side of the nave of the 
church, and a pent-house cloister is supposed to have 
run round it. It is quite evident that there have been 
buildings on the west and north sides, as six arches on 
the west remain, and ruins are to be seen in the 
orchard on the north. 

The refectory has been a noble room, one hundred 
and twenty-five feet in length, by thirty-seven in 
breadth, with three large lancet lights in the west, and 
eight others on the north, and as many on the south 
side. The entrance into the reader's desk has been on 
the north side, by a winding staircase, part of which 
yet remains. From this place, one of the novices used 
to read a portion of Scripture, in Latin, during dinner. 
The apartment beneath may have served as a store 
room. The kitchen (at least the room which now 
bears that name) is of but small dimensions, and does 
not appear to have been of adequate size for such a 
large establishment as this has been in its day of 
prosperity. 

The dormitory, in a line west from the transept of 
the church, has been of great extent, but is now a com- 
plete ruin ; such of the walls as are not broken down, 
being overgrown with thick masses of ivy, A round- 



RIEVAUX ABBEY. 265 

headed doorway leads into a square court, on three 
sides of which are supposed to have been the apart- 
ments of the abbot ; but the walls are so broken down, 
and the floors so cumbered with rubbish, that it is 
impossible to discriminate the site of the apartments 
with accuracy. 

Beneath the windows of the refectory, towards the 
west, is a large heap of iron slag and cinders, shewing 
that iron has been smelted there, and that the 
bloomery has been in operation a long time. On a 
stone in the wall of a cowshed, adjoining the road, is 
inscribed, in very distinct characters, the ancient name 
of the abbey, S. Rievale. 

On the opposite side, is a small building, with a 
window of three lights on one side, and a small lancet 
light in the other ; which is supposed to have been the 
eleemosynary. Foundations of buildings may be 
traced in the fields, on the north of the abbey, to a 
great extent ; probably those of the stables and other 
necessary buildings. 

Situate on the edge of the hill, just above the abbey, 
is the celebrated Buncombe terrace, with its beautiful 
prospects and Grecian temples ; adorned by the pencil 
of the Italian artist, Bernici ; a most delightful spot. 



266 



i^Imskg Castle. 



" Helmsley, once proud Buckingham's delight/' 
with the wide and beautiful domains around it, is now 
the property of the right honourable lord Feversham, 
of Buncombe park, an elegant mansion in the imme- 
diate neighbourhood. 

Of the state of Helmsley, previous to the Norman 
conquest, we have no information. At the time of the 
Domesday survey, it was in the hands of three thanes, 
who had three and a half carucates of land to be 
taxed, and land for two ploughs. Shortly afterwards, 
the manor came into the possession of Walter d' Espec, 
founder of the abbey of Rievaux. On his death, 
without surviving issue, in the year 1138, his youngest 
sister, Adeline, having married Peter de Roos, carried 
the lordship of Helmsley to the Roos family. Robert 
de Roos, surnamed Fursan, built the castle of Helmsley, 
which, from its builder, was sometimes styled Fursan 
castle. The castle and estate continued in this family 
till the reign of Henry YIII., when Thomas, lord 
Roos, was created earl of Rutland. In the reign of 
James I., Catherine, only child and heiress of Francis, 
the sixth earl of Rutland, married George, the first 
duke of Buckingham, who was stabbed by Felton, in 
1628, when the estate became vested in their eldest 



HELMSLEY CASTLE. 267 

son, George Villars, best known for his life of dissipa- 
tion and extravagance ; and who, after a reckless 
libertine life, died a miserable death, in the neighbour- 
ing town of Kirby Moorside. From the trustees of 
this nobleman, the estate was purchased, in 1695, by 
Sir Charles Duncombe, knt., from whom is descended 
the present owner. 

The only historical event connected with this castle, 
is its siege by the forces of the parliament, in 1644. 
It was then well garrisoned, and commanded by 
colonel Jordan Crossland, a brave and determined 
cavalier. After the surrender of York, Sir Thomas 
Fairfax, with a strong force, formed the siege of this 
royahst stronghold. The place was boldly assaulted, 
and as bravely defended. In one of those attacks. Sir 
Thomas was shot through the shoulder with a musket 
ball, and removed soon afterwards to York in a very 
dangerous condition ; and it was for some time un- 
certain whether the wound would prove fatal or not. 
On the 12th of November, 1644, a party of the king's 
horse, from the garrisons of Skipton and Knares- 
borough, marched with the intention of raising the 
siege. They proceeded with great caution, until they 
reached the outworks of the besiegers, which they 
attacked with much resolution, and were received by 
the parliamentarians with equal intrepidity. After a 
short conflict, the royal troops gave way, and were 
pursued, by the besiegers, over Black Hambleton, who 
killed and wounded many, and took prisoners, one 
captain, five lieutenants, one cornet, one ensign, a 



268 HELMSLEY CASfLE. 

quarter-master, and forty-four troopers; besides eighty 
horses, and a great quantity of provisions, &c. Lord 
Fairfax sent a party, under major Sanders, to make 
good the siege ; however, before their arrival, the 
besiegers had routed the assaiHng party ; and the 
siege was carried on with great vigour until the 21st 
of November, when the fortress surrendered on 
honourable terms : — " All the officers to march out 
with their arms ; all the amunition, ordnance, and 
arms, within the said castle, to be delivered up to the 
besiegers." 

In the castle, was found about 200 men, 9 pieces of 
ordnance, 300 muskets and pikes, 6 barrels of powder, 
and much money and plate. Many of the common 
soldiers joined the parliamentarians ; whereof, forty 
went directly to assist at the siege of Scarborough 
castle. 

Though not possessed of any great advantages of 
situation, like the neighbouring fortresses" of Scar- 
borough, Richmond, and Knaresborough, Helmsley 
castle, from its high and strong walls, deep ditches, 
and fortifications, in the ages before cannon and gun- 
powder came into use, was capable of opposing con- 
siderable resistance to an attacking force. 

The ruins are situated on a gentle eminence to the 
west of the town, the remains of the keep rising above 
the grove of trees by which it is surrounded. The 
main entrance has been on the south, through a square 
tower, about twenty feet wide ; the groove for the 
portcullis yet remains in the wall ; and apertures are 



HELMSLEY CASTLE. 269 

yet to be seen in the arch above, for the purpose of 
throwing stones, boiHng pitch, or molten lead, upon 
the heads of an attacking party, which might have 
penetrated close to the gate. This tower has been 
flanked by circular projections, for the purpose of 
giving it additional strength. The outer moat has 
been both wide and deep, and was formerly filled by 
the waters of the river Rye. At a distance of twenty- 
seven yards from the outer, we come to the inner moat, 
which, like the other, has also contained water, and is 
about fifty feet wide and twenty deep. Many large 
trees are now growing on its sides, and add much to 
the pictorial effect of the ruins. The gateway into 
the inner court, or area of the castle, has also been 
defended by a portcullis, the groove on one side yet re- 
maining ; the greater part of this gate tower has, how- 
ever, disappeared. The keep, the earliest, highest, and 
strongest part of the building now remaining, occupies 
the north-east corner of the area, and is ninety-five 
feet in height ; the bartisans at the two angles on the 
western side, yet remain, with their battlements com- 
plete. This great tower has been about fourteen yards 
square ; the walls, perpendicular and quite plain. A 
staircase, at the north-west angle, is broken down ; the 
loop-holes in the lower stories have been approached 
from within, in an indirect manner, so that any missiles, 
or combustible matters thrown in, could not reach 
the interior of the building. There are five narrow 
windows on the western side, with arches slightly 
pointed on the outside, and more acutely within. The 



270 HELMSLEY CASTLE. 

eastern side is completely down, huge fragments of it 
having fallen into the moat. It has consisted of three 
stories above the dungeon ; the second story appears 
to have been arched ; a fire-place yet remains on the 
north side. The whole of the outer walls on the east 
and north sides of the area have been destroyed, and 
the moats partly filled up. There has been an 
entrance into the castle on the north, as part of a 
bridge across the moat yet remains. 

On the western side, close to the moat, a range of 
buildings remains, in good preservation, — many of the 
windows being yet glazed, — and a large upper room is 
used as a court room for the manor of Helmsley, and 
the rent audits of Lord Feversham. The Elizabethan 
style of its architecture points it out as the last built 
portion of the castle ; and we may easily suppose that 
it was the place where the revelries of the voluptuous 
duke of Buckingham were carried on. The windows 
are square, mostly of three lights, divided by a transom ; 
on the western side are two fine oriels. Underneath 
the high, tower-like part of this building, is a subter- 
raneous passage, said by tradition to extend to Rievaux 
abbey. The lofty trees by which this remnant of 
feudal greatness is surrounded, give an air of solemnity 
and grandeur well suited to the scene. 

The town of Helmsley is but of small extent, yet 
neat, clean, and fairly built, with a few well preserved 
wood and plaster houses yet remaining. The church 
is nearly in the middle of the town, and is an ancient 
and respectable structure. In the chancel are menu- 



HELMSLEY CASTLE, 271 

ments to the memory of the Duncombe family, lords 
Feversham. At a short distance from the town is 
Duncombe Park, the splendid seat of lord Feversham, 
situated amid scenery the most exquisitely beautiful, 
and adorned with gardens, conservatories, terraces, and 
temples. The house is enriched with many paintings, 
by the most celebrated masters. Among the sculpture, 
is the celebrated dog of Alcibiades, said to have been 
the work of Myron, the renowned Greek artist ; and 
the Discobolus, or quoit thrower, considered to be the 
best statue in England. All these treasures of art, and 
beauties of nature, are, through the liberality of the 
noble owner, thrown open to the gaze of the public. 



272 



^itkring Castle. 



Pickering is a town of undoubted antiquity, and 
formerly of much more consequence than at present ; 
though now the hand of improvement is manifestly at 
work, and its means of easy communication by railway 
promises to restore to it some of its former importance. 
Stow, in his summary of English chronicles, says it 
was built 270 years before Christ, by Peredurus, a 
king of the Britons, who reigned for seven years, con- 
jointly with his brother Vigenius, and after his death, 
ten years alone, when " he builded the towne of Picke- 
ring." The name is said to have been derived from an 
accident which befel some king, probably the builder, 
who lost a ring while bathing in the river Costa, a 
little below the town, and which was afterwards found 
in the belly of a pike caught in the same water ; hence 
the name Pike-ring, or Pickering. 

In the time of Edward the Confessor, Pickering was 
in the possession of Morcar, earl of Northumberland. 
To whom it was given after the Conquest is uncertain ; 
nor does its name occur in any known record till the 
32nd of Henry III., when William, lord Dacre, was 
appointed sheriff of Yorkshire, and had assigned to 
him the custody of Pickering castle ; which, seven 
years afterwards, was committed to the care of William 



PICKERING CASTLE. 273 

Latimer ; after which, the king gave it, with the lord- 
ship, to his son Edmund ; and, accordingly, at his 
death, it is reckoned among the other estates of that 
prince, by the names of the manor, castle, and forest 
of Pickering. He obtained, 19th of Edward I., a 
charter for a fair every year, upon the eve, day, and 
morrow after the exaltation of the holy cross, at this 
his manor of Pickering ; and left it so privileged to his 
son and heir, Thomas, earl of Lancaster ; who, in the 
reign of Edward IL, placed himself at the head of the 
confederacy against Piers de Gavestone. He having 
afterwards forfeited his life and estate, Henry Percy, 
earl of Northumberland, was made governor of Picker- 
ing castle. But king Edward being deposed, Henry, 
brother and heir to the before-mentioned Thomas, ear! 
of Lancaster, obtained an act of parliament, reversing 
his brother's attainder, and thereby repossessed all his 
estates and honours. At his death he bequeathed 
them to his son Henry, who left only two daughters, 
Maud and Blanch. Upon the divison of his estates, 
this castle and manor fell to the latter, then wife of 
John of Gaunt, earl of Bichmond, and afterwards in 
her right duke of Lancaster. 

Richard H. was for some time imprisoned here, 
before his removal to Pontefract, as appears by the 
following lines, from Hardyng's chronicle ; — 

" The kyng then sent kyng Richard to Ledes, 
There to be kepte surely in privitee, 
Fro thens after to Pykering went he needis, 
And to Knaresborongh after led was hee, 
Jjiit to Pountefrete last, where he did dee." 



274 PICKERING CASTLE. 

In the reign of queen Elizabeth, this castle was 
possessed by the crown. King James I., January 10th 
1615, demised the castle and manor of Pickering to 
Sir Francis Bacon and others, for ninety-nine years, 
from Michaelmas before the date, in trust for his 
highness Charles, then prince of Wales, afterwards 
king Charles I. ; who directed the said trustees to 
assign the remainder of the term to other persons, in 
trust for his queen Henrietta Maria, for her life ; which 
term was afterward assigned to other trustees, in trust 
for Catherine, late queen dowager of England, for her 
life ; and after her death, in trust for king James II., 
his heirs and successors. 

King WiUiam III., May 18th, 1697, demised to Abel 
Tyson, the castle and manor of Pickering, with all its 
appurtenances, &c., to hold from the death of the said 
queen dowager, for the remainder of the term of ninety- 
nine years. The reversion was afterwards purchased 
by — Hart, Esq. ; it is now in possession of the family 
of Hill, of Thornton, near Pickering. 

At what time, or by whom Pickering castle was 
built is unknown. Leland gives the following account 
of its state and situation in his time. "The castle 
standeth at the end of the town, not far from the 
parish church, on the brow of the hill, under which 
runneth the brook. In the first court are four towers, 
one of which is called Rosamond's tower. In the inner 
court are also four towers, whereof the keep is one. 
The castle walls and towers are very neat. The lodg- 
ings in the inner court are of timber, and in ruin. In 



PICKERING CASTLE. 275 

the inner court is a chapel, which has a chantry priest. 
The castle hath of a good continuance, with the town 
and lordship longed to the Lancaster blood. But who 
built the castle, or was the owner of it before the 
Lancasters, I could not learn. The castle walls now 
remaining seem not to be very ancient. I remember 
to have heard that Richard III. lay sometime in this 
and sometime in Scardeburg castle." 

The castle stands at the north-western extremity of 
the town, at the end of the street called Castlegate, 
in an elevated position. The exterior is not prepos- 
sessing, or suited for pictorial effect, merely present- 
ing a blank wall, with towers a little higher at intervals. 
The entrance is on the south, through what has been 
the gate tower ; but the great archway is now walled 
up, and a modern door- way substituted. Tradition 
says this was the place of execution of malefactors 
taken within the limits of Pickering forest. It is only 
after we have passed through this tower that we have 
any idea of the castle. It has consisted of a keep and 
inner gate tower, surrounded by a deep and wide 
ditch ; an outer court, or baily, surrounded by a strong 
high wall, further strengthened by towers at intervals, 
four of which yet remain. The area, enclosed by the 
walls, is three acres in extent ; a small portion occu- 
pied as a garden, the rest as pasturage. It is of a 
circular or oval form, terminating in a right angle at 
the south-west. The height of the outer wall may be 
about twenty feet, in some places more, in others less. 
The gate tower is a ruin, a great part of it removed. 



276 PICKERING CASTLE. 

Rosamond's tower,* on the south-east, is nearly com- 
plete, and three stories in height ; the lowest of which 
is not unlike a dungeon ; the two upper rooms are 
about eleven feet by eight feet, and occupy the whole 
area of the tower ; each of them has had a fire-place, 
and a convenience ; the latter approached by a narrow 
passage in the thickness of the wall ; the topmost 
room has had a window of two lights divided by a 
transom. A winding staircase, yet complete, leads to 
the top of the tower. The tower to the north is called 
the Devil tower ; it stands close to the moat which has 
enclosed the keep, and is in a ruinous condition ; it 
appears to have been of similar dimensions with the 
last. In a curve of the wall, on the north-west, is the 
site of the chapel, marked by a recess in the wall, with 
a circular arch. Near it, is the court house, a little, 
plain, modern building, where the courts for the honor 
of Pickering are held twice in the year. At the south- 
western corner, is the Mill tower, of similar dimensions 
internally as the others, but much higher, owning to 
the hill, on which the castle stands, falling away at 
this point. The outer wall and towers appear to be 
all of one age, and are of limestone, similar to the 
rock on which they stand. The moat enclosing the 
inner court has been an extensive work ; but, judging 
from its situation, and the nature of the rock in which 
it is cut, it can never have held much water ; part of 
it is now nearly filled up with rubbish, and the re- 

* So named from a ti'adition that Fair Eosamond Clifford, the beautiful 
mistress of Henry II., was a prisoner in it. 



PICKERING CASTLE. 277 

mainder thickly overgrown and shaded with trees. 
At the end nearest the Devil tower, appears the head 
of an arch, which may have formed the entrance of a 
sally port. The keep, which is evidently the oldest 
part of the building, is of a circular form, and stands 
upon a lofty artificial mound, like a very large tumulus ; 
the materials of which, we might suppose to have been 
cast out of the moa.t. The area at the top is about 
twenty yards in diameter. The walls are of rude 
masonry, and crumbling down from the effects of time 
and violence. The windows, in the basement story, 
which is all that remains, have been mere loop holes, 
or arrow slits, not more than two inches wide. The 
tower at the foot of the hill, on which the keep stands, 
is also in a very dilapidated condition. From the hill 
on which the keep stands, some fine views of the 
country, to the westward, may be obtained. Deep 
below the castle walls, in a narrow valley, runs Picker- 
ing beck, and the railway to Whitby. On the west side 
of this valley, on the crest of the hill, directly opposite 
the castle, and half a mile distant, are two or three 
small green mounds, evidently of artificial formation, 
which is said to be the place where the battery was 
planted by Oliver Cromwell when he destroyed the 
castle. Although we have no authentic account of the 
siege, it is not improbable that its walls might be 
shattered by parliamentarian cannon. Henderwell 
says,* "when it was besieged by the parliament's 
forces, a large breach was made on the west side of it ; 

* History of Scarborough, p. 350. 



278 PICKERING CASTLE, 

and after it was taken, great quantities of papers and 
parchments, several of which had gilt letters on them, 
were scattered about the street called Castlegate, and 
picked up by the children attracted by the glittering 
leaves." 

The town of Pickering is pleasantly situated on the 
side of a hill, rising above the flat marishes which 
border the Derwent ; by the side of a large brook 
called Pickering beck, which runs from the north, and 
joins the river Costa a little below the town. The 
market is on a Monday, which, since the improved 
railway communication was opened, is in a thriving 
state. 

This town was represented in parliament, 23rd of 
Edward I., when Eobert Turcock was returned ; but 
this privilege was withdrawn, or discontinued, in the 
same reign. 

There was, formerly, a park attached to the castle, 
seven miles in circuit ; it is now disparked and 
cultivated. 

The church is a large and venerable structure, with 
a tall spire. It does not contain many ancient monu- 
ments, although one or two mutilated fragments are 
worthy of attention. During some necessary repairs 
in the chancel, in 1853, the accidental displacement of 
a portion of the whitewash which had accumulated on 
the walls, revealed part of a painted surface, which led 
to the displacement of more, until at length several 
beautiful paintings were unfolded from the darkness 
which had shrouded them for centuries. The figures 



PICKERlNa CASTLE. 279 

were life size, and finely drawn ; the colours, fresh and 
brilliant as when first laid on. Two of the subjects 
were, the " Last Supper,'^ and the " Crucifixion." They 
were visited by hundreds, and were for some time 
open to the inspection of the curious ; until the vicar 
refused to preach any longer in the church, unless they 
were again hidden beneath a coat of whitewash ; 
when, to gratify his own ortliodox scruples, they were 
again consigned to the darkness from which they had 
been accidentally brought. 

Pickering is eighteen miles from Scarborough, nine 
from Malton, and eight from Kirby Moorside, and 
accessible, by railway, from all parts of the kingdom. 



280 



)tarlj0imxg^ Castk. 



This castle, once the strength and yet the ornament 
of Scarborough, was built in the reign of king Stephen, 
about the year 1136, by William le Gros, earl of Albe- 
marle and Holderness ; who seeing the advantageous 
situation, obtained permission of the king to build a 
castle on the sea-coast. And no place could be better 
adapted for strength and security ; for with very little 
assistance from art, it was in that age absolutely im- 
pregnable ; projecting into, and surrounded by the sea 
on three sides, rising above its level to a height of 
three hundred feet ; nothing more was needed on that 
side. On the side nearest the town he erected a lofty 
tower, and embattled wall ; thus rendering himself 
secure against all attacks. 

William le Gros was one of the principal com- 
manders at the battle of the Standard, fought near 
Northallerton, August 22nd, 1138, in which David, 
king of Scotland, and a large army, were completely 
defeated. 

King Henry XL, in order to reduce the exorbitant 
power of the nobles, commanded all the castles erected 
in the preceding reign to be demolished, and came into 
the north to see his orders carried into execution ; 
b\it Scarborough castle, from its formidable situation, 



SCARBOROUGH CASTLE. 281 

appeared so great a defence to the sea-coast, that he 
not only preserved it from destruction, but improved it 
in strength and magnificence. The earl deeply resented 
the loss of his castle, and even took arms to revenge 
the injury ; but this only added to his misfortunes, for 
Henry was an active and skilful general, as well as a 
wise and politic prince ; so that the earl was soon 
obliged to sue for pardon, which he obtained through 
the intercession of the archbishop of York. He was, 
however, so much affected by this sudden reverse of 
fortune, that he retired from public life, to a seques- 
tered retreat, at Thornton, in Lincolnshire, where he 
died, in 1179, and was buried in the abbey at that 
place, which he had founded and liberally endowed. 

The castle continued in possession of the crown, and 
was generally governed by some distinguished noble- 
man, its situation on the sea-coast rendering it a 
fortress of great importance. 

King Edward I., one of the most distinguished 
sovereigns that ever swayed the British sceptre, re- 
sided some time in this castle, with a large and noble 
retinue. 

Piers Gaveston, the favourite of king Edward II., 
having excited the resentment of the English barons, 
they formed a powerful conspiracy against him. 
Thomas, earl of Lancaster, chief of the party, suddenly 
raised an army and marched to York ; arrived there, 
he found the king removed with the favourite to New- 
castle. He hastened thither in pursuit of them, and 
Edward had just time to escape to Tynemouth, where 



282 SCARBOROUGH CASTLE. 

he embarked and sailed with Gaveston to Scarborough. 
He immediately appointed Gaveston governor of the 
castle, then esteemed one of the strongest fortresses in 
the kingdom. The earl of Pembroke was sent by the 
confederated nobles with a considerable force to be- 
siege the castle. Gaveston with great bravery repulsed 
several attacks ; but all communication with the king 
being interrupted, and the provisions of the garrison 
exhausted, he was obliged to capitulate, and surrender 
himself prisoner. The conditions he had stipulated 
with Pembroke were totally disregarded ; he was con- 
ducted to Dedington castle, near Banbury, where he 
was seized by the earl of Warwick, and beheaded, 
June 20th, 1312. 

In 1482, king Richard III., with Ann his queen, 
visited Scarborough, and resided some time in the 
castle. This much maligned monarch was very liberal 
to the town, not only adding to its security by a wall 
and bulwarks, but also granted a charter with more ex- 
tensive privileges than those of any of his predecessors. 

During the Pilgrimage of Grace, in 1536, a detach- 
ment of the fanatical army, under the command of Sir 
Robert Aske, besieged Scarborough castle. Sir Ralph 
Evers was then governor. The garrison was incon- 
siderable, consisting principally of the tenants and 
servants of the governor, and a few volunteers, who 
were attached to him from motives of personal esteem. 
They were destitute of military stores, and in such 
want of provisions that they were under the necessity 
of sustaining themselves for twenty days on bread and 



SCARBOROUGH CASTLE. 283 

water ; yet from the great natural strength of the 
castle, and the skill and intrepidity of the governor, 
the assailants were obliged to abandon the enterprise 
with confusion and disgrace. 

In 1557, Thomas Stafford, second son of lord 
Stafford, bj a bold stratagem obtained possession of 
the castle. Returning from France with some English 
fugitives, he adroitly surprised the garrison in the 
following manner : Having previously arranged his 
plan, he disguised his little troop in the habits of 
peasants and countrymen, and entered the town on a 
market day, under the most unsuspicious appearances. 
He gained an easy admittance into the castle, and 
strolled about with a careless air, apparently to gratify 
his curiosity. About thirty of his men entered without 
the least suspicion, and embracing a favourable oppor- 
tunity, instantly secured the different sentinels, took 
possession of the gate, and admitted their remaining 
companions, who under their exterior garb of country- 
men had concealed arms. But the triumph of Stafford 
was of short duration, and the success of his enterprise 
was the cause of his death ; for he had retained posses- 
sion only three dsijs, when the earl of Westmorland, 
with a considerable force, recovered the castle without 
loss. Stafford, captain Saunders, and three others of 
the leaders, were taken prisoners, conducted to London, 
and confined in the tower. They were afterwards 
tried, and being convicted of high treason, Stafford, on 
account of his quality, w^as beheaded, and three of his 
associates, Strelly, Bradford, and Procter, were hanged, 



284 SCARBOROUGH CASTLE, 

drawn, and quartered. From the suddenness of this 
surprise arose the expression, "A Scarborough warning, 
a word and a blow, and the blow comes first." 

The next, and most important historical event con- 
nected with Scarborough castle, is its siege and capture 
by the forces of the parliament, during the great civil 
war. Sir Hugh Cholmley, having deserted the cause 
of the parliament, received a commisson, in March 
1643, to hold Scarborough castle for the king, and 
persuaded part of the garrison to assist him in his 
design, and had apparently succeeded in his object ; 
when, on the last day of March, it was surprised and 
taken, by captain Brown Bushell, for the parliament. 
The fortress thus changed hands twice in the course of 
one week, without the shedding of one drop of blood. 
Captain Bushell, however, turned traitor, admitted Sir 
Hugh Cholmley, the former governor, and the castle 
was again held for the king. Sir William Constable 
was first ordered to form the siege of the castle, by 
lord Fairfax ; but making little progress in the under- 
taking. Sir John Meldrum, a Scottish soldier of fortune, 
who had lately distinguished himself in the defence of 
Hull, was sent down by parliament to undertake the 
siege. On the 18th of February, 1643, the town, with 
the church of St. Mary, was taken by assault, and Sir 
Hugh Cholmley, the governor, retired into the castle. 
The parliamentarians took in the town and church 
thirty-two pieces of cannon, with a great quantity of 
arms and ammunition, and one hundred and twenty 
ships in the harbour. After this success, Sir John 



SCARBOROUGH CASTLE. 285 

Meldrum regularly invested the castle, and having 
made a lodgment in the church, opened a battery from 
the east window. The garrison, at the same time, 
kept up an incessant and well directed fire, by which 
the choir was demolished ; the ruins at the eastern 
part of the church yard are a monument of this de- 
struction. On the 17th of May, 1645, the parliament- 
arians made a general assault on the castle, but were 
repulsed with great loss ; several of their best officers 
were killed, and their commander, Sir John Meldrum, 
received a mortal wound, of which he died on the 
3rd of June. 

Sir Matthew Boynton was appointed by parliament 
to succeed Sir John Meldrum, and brought a strong 
reinforcement to the siege, which was continued with 
unremitted vigour, till July 22nd, 1645 ; when the 
fortifications being ruined by incessant battering, the 
stores nearly exhausted, and the garrison worn out 
with excessive fatigue and sickness, and entirely dis- 
pirited, the governor seeing no prospect of relief, 
after having defended the castle for more than twelve 
months, surrendered it on honourable terms. The 
garrison was greatly reduced in number by the scurvy, 
which had caused a dreadful mortality. Many of the 
soldiers that remained were in so weak a condition, 
that some were carried out in sheets, others were 
supported by two, and the rest were unfit to march. 

Colonel Boynton, the successor of Sir Matthew, 
having declared for the king, the castle once more 
came into the hands of the royalists ; but the garrison 



286 SCARBOROUGH CASTLE. 

growing mutinous, the colonel was obliged to capitu- 
late, and on the 19th of December, 1648, the fortress 
was again surrendered to the parliament, and taken 
possession of, in their name, by colonel Bethel. 

In 1665 — 6, Sir Jordan Crossland was governor of 
the castle ; at which time, it was fully garrisoned. 
At this period, George Fox, founder of the society of 
Friends, was imprisoned in the castle above twelve 
months, on account of his religious opinions. 

The lofty promontory on which the castle stands, 
presents on the north, east, and south, a vast sweep of 
craggy perpendicular rocks, totally inaccessible ; the 
western aspect is bold and majestic ; a high, steep, 
and rocky slope, thinly covered with verdure, com- 
mands the town and bay by its superior elevation. 
The first approach to the castle, is by a gateway on 
the summit of a high and narrow isthmus, on the 
western side, above the town. Within this gate, the 
north and south walls of the castle form an angular 
projection ; at the western point of which, without the 
walls, is an outwork on an eminence, where was a 
battery during the siege of the castle, in 1 644. 

This entrance, called the barbacan, was without the 
ditch, which, immediately within, was crossed by a 
draw-bridge, and formed the only entrance into the 
castle. The draw-bridge is now removed, and its 
place supplied with an arch of stone ; beneath which, 
is the ditch, a deep and perpendicular fosse, which 
extends southward almost to the beach. Ascending a 
narrow pass, we come to the great tower, the oldest 



SCARBOROUGH CASTLE, 287 

part of the building, in the Anglo-Norman style of 
architecture, of a square form, and ninety-seven feet 
in height. The walls are twelve feet in thickness, 
cemented with mortar as hard and durable as stone 
itself. There have been three stories, or very lofty 
rooms, one over another, each room between twenty 
and thirty feet high, and thirty feet square, within the 
walls, with recesses. The remains of a large fire-place 
are visible in the lower apartment. The subterraneous 
room, or dungeon, is nearly filled up with stones and 
earth. The difi'erent stories have been vaulted with 
strong arches, and private passages are visible in some 
of the apartments, within the thickness of the wall. 
The windows have semicircular arches, and are larger 
than is usually found in such buildings, being six feet 
high and three feet wide. The area of the ballium, in 
which this tower stands, is more than half an acre, and 
is divided from the interior part of the castle field by 
a ditch and mound, surmounted with a wall. The 
gateway, placed between two towers, has evidently 
been machicolated ; the approach to it, by the narrow 
isthmus, was also flanked by numerous turrets. In the 
ballium, were situate most of the habitable buildings 
belonging to the castle ; and adjoining to it, were the 
towers mentioned by Leland. 

The embattled wall, which has defended and 
adorned the summit of the hill on the western side, 
is flanked and strengthened by numerous semicircular 
towers, with narrow openings, whence the defenders 
discharged arrows and other missiles. This wall is 



288 SCARBOROUGH CASTLE. 

hastening to decay, and exhibits Httle more than a 
scene of venerable ruin. 

The whole area enclosed between the wall and the 
sea is upwards of nineteen acres, forming, as Leland 
says, " a grete green," and gently sloping about twenty 
feet from the north to the south side. In this field, is 
a battery fronting the open sea ; another at the 
southern extremity, and another a little way down the 
cliJBF on the northern side. Under an arched vault, 
near the ruins of the ancient chapel, is a reservoir of 
water, called the Lady's Well. This reservoir, when 
full, contains about forty tons of water, which is 
transparent, and of excellent quality. In turning from 
these mouldering remains of antiquity, the eye is 
relieved, and the mind exhilarated by the charms of 
the surrounding prospect. The diversified aspect of 
the adjacent country, the romantic appearance of the 
town, the sands enlivened by moving throngs, and the 
unbounded view of the ocean, form an assemblage, 
beautiful and interesting beyond conception. 

"Scarborough is readily admitted to be supreme 
among northern watering places. No situation on the 
Yorkshire coast offers the same combination of pictur- 
esque cliffs, convenient accesses, comfortable dwellings, 
amusements for invalids, and motives of exercise to 
the more robust, along pleasant sands, among ancient 
fortifications, over prominent hills, or through woody 
valleys." * The country near Scarborough is richly 
diversified with hills and dales, exhibiting great variety 

* Phillips' Rivers, Mountains, and Sea Coast of Yorkshire. 



SCARBOROUGH CASTLE. - 289 

of scenery. Towards the north, elevated moors of con- 
siderable extent raise their bleak and barren summits. 
To the south and south-west, the wolds present another 
grand and extensive line of boundary. Oliver's Mount, 
little more than a mile from the town, possesses every 
requisite that can render an excursion to the summit 
delightful ; the ascent is easy, and when on the top, 
the tourist finds himself on one of the most delightful 
terraces in England, elevated five hundred feet above 
the level of the sea ; from which commanding eminence 
there is a magnificent view of the castle hill, the town, 
the harbour, the piers, and the ocean, bounded only by 
the horizon ; and in the western prospect, the moors, 
the wolds, and the extensive valley stretching out 
towards Pickering and Malton, exhibit a highly diver- 
sified scenery. 

" Nature here 
Exhausted all her powers. For site she gave 
A mountain, neighbour to the moon ; for walls, 
' A pensile cliff, whence down the boldest eye 
With dizzy horror looks ; for moat th' abyss 
Of boundless ocean, spiked with guardian rocks : 
Then decked the mountain top, a spacious mead, 
With ever verdant robes." 



290 



wijitbj) tijH>- 



This abbey, which was called at its first foundation 
the abbey of Streoneshalh, was situated on a bleak 
eminence rising above the German ocean, and over- 
looking the town and port of Whitby. 

The monastery was founded in consequence of a 
vow made by Oswy, king of ISTorthumbria, when about 
to engage the more numerous forces of Penda, the 
pagan king of Mercia ; having endeavoured in vain by 
prayers and entreaties to persuade the invader to 
withdraw his army he determined to fight, and vowed 
if he came off victorious to dedicate his infant daughter 
to God, and give twelve farms to build monasteries. 
He was successful in the battle, and routed the 
Mercian army with great slaughter ; Penda, and many 
of his chief commanders being slain in the fight. In 
fulfilment of his vow, Oswy gave his daughter Ethel- 
fleda, then scarcely a year old, into the care of the 
celebrated Lady Hilda, to be dedicated to God in per- 
petual virginity ; also twelve small portions of land, 
each containing ten families, on which to build monas- 
teries. One of these portions was situate at Whitby, 
then called Streoneshalh, and the foundation of a 
convent for monks and nuns of the Benedictine order 
was laid. The buildings were begun in the year 657 ; 



WHITBY ABBEY. 291 

and though really founded and endowed by Oswy, the 
honour of the foundation was ascribed to St. Hilda, 
and the monastery was always called by her name, — a 
proof of the veneration in which she was held by the 
people. 

While lady Hilda was abbess, the famous synod of 
Whitby was held, A.D. 664, for fixing the time of the 
celebration of Easter, which, notwithstanding her oppo- 
sition, and that of the venerable Colman, bishop of 
Northumbria, was determined in favour of the Roman 
custom, chiefly through the eloquence of Wilfrid, sub- 
sequently archbishop of York, 

Of the number of those who were educated for the 
ministry in this monastery we may form some idea, 
from the fact, that six of them were accounted worthy 
of the episcopal dignity : Bosa, John of Beverley, and 
Wilfrid II. archbishops of York ; Hedda, bishop of 
Wessex, and Tatfrid and Oftsor, bishops of Worcester, 
This abbey had also the honour of producing the 
father of English poetry, the famous Coedmon, who 
was here divinely inspired with the gift of song. 

In the year 680, the lady Hilda died at the age of 
sixty-six, and was succeeded in the abbacy by the 
princess Ethelfleda, who ruled the monastery until she 
was sixty years of age, and then, says the venerable 
Bide,''^ " departed to the nuptials and embrace of her 
heavenly bridegroom.^^ In the same monastery she 
and her father Oswy, her mother Eanfleda, her 
mother's father Edwin, and many other noble persons, 

* Eccle. Hist. Book VI. Chap. 24. 



292 WHITBY ABBEY. 

were buried in the church of the holy apostle Peter. 

This monastery continued in a flourishing state till 
about the year 867, when an army of Danes under the 
command of the brothers Hinguar and Hubba, landed 
at Dunsley Bay, and thence, spreading over the 
country, plundered and laid waste the monastery of 
Whitby, and drove away its inmates. 

For more than two hundred years the place lay in 
ruins, neglected, and almost forgotten. After the 
Conquest, the district in which it was situate came into 
the possession of William de Percy, one of the Norman 
nobility, when the abbey was refounded in the follow- 
ing manner : Reinfred, who had formerly been a 
soldier under the Conqueror, having become a monk 
at Evesham, set out from that monastery with two 
companions, to revive monastic institutions in the 
devastated kingdom of Northumbria. After continuing 
some time at Newcastle-on-Tyne, then called Monk- 
chester, they removed to Jarrow, and took up their 
abode among the ruins of its ancient abbey. Here 
their numbers began to increase, and they then pro- 
ceeded to establish themselves in diiferent quarters. 
Keinfred, with a few associates from among them, 
departed for Whitby, to revive the desecrated monas- 
tery of St. Hilda. He came to William de Percy, and 
from him had an honourable reception, and the gift of 
the old monastery, with two carucates of land in 
Whitby in perpetual alms. Reinfred assumed the 
title of prior, and the establishment began to prosper 
under his management ; when he met with his death 



AVHITBY ABBEY. 293 

by an accident while travelling on the business of his 
monastery. Coming to the place called Ormsbridge, 
where some workmen were constructing a bridge across 
the Derwent, he alighted from his horse to assist them, 
when a beam fell upon him, fractured his skull, and he 
immediately expired. He was buried in the church of 
Hackness, opposite the altar. 

Keinfred was succeeded by Stephen of Whitby, who 
appears by some means to have displeased the patron, 
William de Percy, who drove away the prior and some 
of the brethren. Stephen fled to Lastingham, and 
afterwards to York, where he founded the celebrated 
abbey of St. Mary. Serlo, brother of William de Percy, 
was the next prior ; during whose time " great tribula- 
tion and distress fell upon the brethren ; for there 
came robbers and plundered by day and by night, 
from the woods and from the hiding places where they 
lurked, and plundered all their substance, and laid 
waste that holy place.'^ The monks retired to Hack- 
ness, but soon returned to Whitby, where Serlo died 
about the year 1100. 

The Conqueror granted to this priory all such liber- 
ties and customs as could then be granted by the royal 
power to any other .church, and also exempted the 
monks and their homagers from all tolls throughout 
his dominions. 

Serlo was succeeded in the government of the house 
by his nephew, William de Percy, son of a brother of 
the lord of the manor ; he obtained the title of abbot, 
and governed successfully for twenty years, during 



294 WHITBY ABBEY. 

which period the wealth of the estabhshment rapidly 
increased, chiefly through the liberality of his relation, 
Alan de Percy, and others ; so much so, that the whole 
of the district called Whitby Strand, came into the 
possession of the monks. Similar privileges to those 
possessed by the churches of Ripon and Beverley were 
given to this monastery, by king Henry I., when it was 
raised to the dignity of an abbey. 

William de Percy, the second founder, died in the 
Holy Land, near Jerusalem ; but his body was brought 
over to England, and interred in Whitby abbey. 

Henry II. granted to the monks a fair at Whitby, to 
be holden on St. Hilda's day, together with security to 
all going and returning from the same. He also gave 
the church of All Saints', Fishergate, in York, with 
the same privileges that the men of St. Peter's and 
St. Cuthbert's had there : as also exclusive jurisdiction 
in all the woods and forests belonging to the abbey, 
and into which the king's bailifls were debarred from 
entering. 

Archbishop Thurstan exempted the church of Whitby 
from the payment of synodals, and also the cells of 
Fishergate and Middlesborough from all episcopal dues 
and customs. 

The abbot of Whitby was a spiritual baron, but had 
no seat in parliament.'" ' 

Cells at Hackness, Middlesborough, Goatland, and 
All Saints', Fishergate, York, were dependant on this 

* Robert de Langtoft, and William de Kirkham, were the only abbots of 
Whitby ever summoned to parliament. 



WHITBY ABBEY. 295 

liouse ; as were also hermitages at Eskdaleside, Mul- 
grave, Saltburn, Hood, and Westcroft ; and no fewer 
than twenty-seven churclies were appropriated to it. 

This monastery continued to flourish in great wealth 
and splendour until the general dissolution ; when, 
on the 14th of December, 1539, Henry De Vail, 
the abbot, and eighteen monks, surrendered it into the 
hands of the king's commissioners ; when the yearly 
revenue was stated to be £505. 9s. Id. gross, and 
£437. 2s. net. 

After the surrender the church was stripped of all 
its furniture, plate, bells,t and ornaments ; the lead 
and timber were taken from the roof, and sold ; and 
nothing left but the naked walls, a mere skeleton of its 
former grandeur, to crumble into ruin, beneath the 
slow, but certain progress of time, or the more destruc- 
tive rage of the elements. 

The site of the abbey was granted, 4th of Edward 
VI., to John, earl of Warwick, by whom, in 1551, it 
was sold to Sir Edward Yorke, and in the 1st of Philip 
and Mary, was sold by him to Sir Hugh Cholmley, 
Knt. The family of Cholmley has produced several 
persons eminent both in peace and war. Among which 
was Sir Hugh Cholmley, who, in the great civil war of 
the seventeenth century, bravely defended the castle of 
Scarborough for twelve months against a parliament- 
arian army ; during the whole of which siege, his lady 

t Tradition says, that the ship which was appointed to convey the bells to 
London sunk, with its sacrilegious cargo, outside of Whitby rock, where it 
yet remains. 



^ 



296 WHITBY ABBEY. 

remained with him in the castle, attending to the sick 
and wounded. Sir Hugh and his family afterwards 
went into exile ; his estates were sequestered, his 
mansion at Whitby converted into a garrison, and 
plundered of everything valuable, by the troops of the 
parliament. He continued in exile till 1649, when his 
brother, Sir Henry Cholmley, found means to appease 
the parliament, and he was permitted to return to 
England. George Cholmley, Esq., of Howsham Hall, 
is the present proprietor of the site of the abbey, and 
lord of the manor of Whitby. 

This venerable ruin stands in an exposed situation 
on a high cliff, on the east side of the town which it 
overlooks. The eminence on which it is seated, is 
steep towards the town, but declines very gently 
towards the south-w^est. It is at least eighty yards 
above the level of the sea, from which it is about a 
quarter of a mile distant. The prospect, from this 
spot, is uncommony fine, embracing the town and 
harbour of Whitby, the castle and woods of Mulgrave, 
the sea, with its fleets of passing merchantmen, the 
majestic cliffs, the romantic valley of the Eske, over 
Ruswarp and Sleights, as far as Grosmont ; the vale of 
Iburndale, and a country highly picturesque and inter- 
esting, with the frowning heights of the bleak moors 
rising in the distant horizon. 

The offices of the monastery have been taken 
dov/n, and Whitby hall was built out of the materials, 
and is supposed to occupy the site of the abbot's 
house. 



WHITBY ABBEY. 297 

The remains now standing, are those of the church, 
from which it is easy to see, that when complete, it has 
been a most magnificent structure. It has been of the 
usual cruciform shape, having a nave and choir, with 
aisles, transept with aisle, and a lofty tower at the 
intersection. The choir remains, with the exception 
of the south aisle, the north transept, nearly entire, 
and considerable portions of the north wall of the 
nave, the grand entrance, and part of the western 
front. The whole of the southern side of the fabric is 
in ruins. The tower, which was 104 feet in height, 
supported by four grand, massive, clustered columns, 
fell, with a tremendous crash, about one o'clock on 
Friday, June 25th, 1830. There was no storm at the 
time, but it had for years previously exhibited symp- 
toms of rapid decay. In the furious storm of January, 
1839, an arch and pillar, on the south side of the 
choir, fell down. The south wall of the nave was 
overthrown by a violent storm of wind, December 2nd, 
1763 ; it also suffered severely from violent gales, in 
May, 1804. 

No traces of the original Saxon church, founded by 
St. Hilda, can be discovered, nor even of the Anglo- 
Norman edifice, erected under the auspices of William 
de Percy, the second founder. The oldest part re- 
maining, is the chancel, which is in the lancet, or early 
English style, to which type the whole building some- 
what assimilates. The eastern front is yet of the full 
height, lighted by six lancet windows in two tiers, with 
others of smaller dimensions above, which have lighted 



298 WHITBY ABBEY. 

the roof ; their sides are deeply moulded, and adorned 
with columns, zigzag, and tooth ornaments. The side 
aisles are divided from the centre by seven pointed 
arches, resting on six lofty clustered columns, above 
which are the triforium and clerestory arcades, yet in 
a tolerable state of preservation. The groining of the 
north aisle is yet complete, with the exception of one 
bay, which has fallen. The keystones, or centre bosses 
of the groins, are finely sculptured, and different from 
each other ; one bears a lion rampant, another a ram 
a third a dragon with a long coiled tail, another a 
mass of elaborately-carved foliage, and only one is 
moulded like the ribs of the groin. The north transept 
jet remains nearly perfect, and is of a later style, 
approaching the decorated ; it has only had one aisle 
on the east side; the west and north walls are adorned 
with a trefoil headed arcade. The front of this 
transept is yet entire, lighted by three tiers of lancet 
windows, with a circular window, or Catherine wheel, 
lighting the roof; at the corners, are two octagonal 
crocketed turrets ; that at the north-west corner is 
reached by a winding stone staircase from the corner 
of the transept below, which, with the exception of a 
few steps at the bottom, is yet perfect. On the north 
pillar of this transept, is part of an inscription, now in 
a mutilated state, and nearly illegible, but is said, 
when complete, to have been as follows : — Jo/mnes de 
Brumton quondam famulus Dei in hoc Monasterio 
ewtructo in honorem Dei Virginis bcatce Marie, — i. e. 
John of Brompton, formerly a servant of God in his 



WHITBY ABBEY. 299 

monastery, built this in honour of God and the blessed 
virgin Mary.''' About the year 1740, an illiterate 
man, not understanding the meaning of the words, 
conceived that it contained an account of some treasure 
concealed in the pillar ; to obtain which, he went 
privately in the night and knocked out the centre 
stone, but, to his great disappointment, met with no 
money. The centre stone is yet wanting, which makes 
it impossible to read the inscription. Two of the 
columns which supported the tower yet remain ; they 
are very massive, consisting of sixteen clustered 
columns. The south transept, which is a mass of un- 
distinguishable ruin, has probably corresponded to the 
north. Seven columns and eight arches have divided 
the nave from the side aisles, but they are all prostrate. 
The architecture of the western part of the nave is in 
another style, and seems to have been the latest part 
of the building. The whole of the western front has 
fallen, to just above the great doorway. There has 
also been an entrance on the north side. The walls 
are of two different kinds of stone — one white, the 
other brown ; the former, in the older part of the 
building, has withstood " the wasting sea breeze keen/' 
much better than the brown in the newer portions. 
The whole fabric is much wasted by time, the damp 
sea air, and the tempests, to which, from its lofty 

* Old Gent, the famous printer and author of York, in the appendix to his 
History of Eome, gives this inscription thus : — Johannes de Brumton, 
quondam famulus Domino De la Phe, has columnas erexit in metum et 
honorera beatse Marias. — John of Brumton, formerly servant to Lord De la 
Phe, erected these pillars in reference and honour of the blessed Mary. 



300 WHITBY ABBEY. 

situation, it is constantly exposed. Though it yet 
stands, beautiful in ruin, interesting alike to the artist 
and antiquary ; no repairs can long keep it up ; a few 
more years, a few more storms, and Whitby abbey will 
be crumbled to a pile of shapeless ruin, and be 
numbered among the things which once were. 



301 



tMgrate Castle. 



The remains of this castle are situated on a lofty 
ridge of land in the Mulgrave woods, about four miles 
north-west of Whitby, and are the property of the 
Marquis of Normanby. 

Here, we are told, was a castle 200 years before the 
Norman conquest, which belonged to Wade, or Wada, 
a Saxon. " He was one of the principal conspirators 
who murdered Ethelred, king of Northumbria ; and 
afterwards joining the confederates with what forces 
he could raise, gave battle to his successor, Ardulph, 
at Whalley, in Lancashire ; but with such ill fortune, 
that his army was routed, and himself obliged to make 
a precipitate flight. He fortified his castle at Mulgrave, 
with an intention to defend himself, but being seized 
with a distemper, death soon terminated his mortal 
existence." ^'"^ 

* Hikdekwell's Hist, of Scarborough, p. 307. 

" This duke Wada appears to be a very mythical personage ; he is repre- 
sented as a giant, and is said to have been buried on a high hill in the 
neighbourhood, between two large blocks of stone, each about seven feet in 
height, which are yet called ' Wade's graves.' Several traditions are yet 
preserved about Mulgrave ; for instance, that Wade and his wife. Bell, built 
Mulgrave and Pickering castles ; that Wade paved the causeway, (the 
Eoman road across the moors, from the neighbourhood of Whitby, is called 
the causeway,) and Bell brought the stones in her apron ; that the son, 
young Wada, could throw a stone several tons weight, and on one occasion, 



302 MULGRAVE CASTLE. 

Many generations after this, Peter de Malo Lacu, 
commonly called Peter de Mauley, a native of Poictou, 
in France, in the reign of Richard L, married, in 
England, the only daughter of Robert de Turnham, 
and obtained with her the large inheritance which had 
formerly belonged to duke Wada. The castle being in 
a ruinous state, he rebuilt it, and on account of its 
beautiful appearance, gave it the name of Moultgrace. 
The neighbouring inhabitants, however, finding it in 
those times a grievance, by the change of a single 
letter, called it Moultgrave. This castle and estate 
were enjoyed by seven Peters, lords de Malo Lacu, in 
succession ; but the seventh Peter dying without issue, 
the inheritance was divided, by his sisters, between the 
knightly families of the Salvains and the Bigods. 
After passing through various other hands, it became 
the property of Edmund, lord Sheffield, of Butterwick, 
lord President of the North, who was created earl of 
Mulgrave, by Charles I., anno. 1646. Of this family, 
it is recorded, that Sir John Sheffield, knight, and 
Edmund and Philip, his brothers, were drowned in 
crossing the Ouse at Whitgift ferry, in December, 
1614 ; William was drowned in France, and George 
broke his neck in a new riding-house which his father 
had made of an old consecrated chapel.'''" This family 

hit his mother so hard, that, although she was not much injured, the impres- 
sion of the stone was indelihle. Wada's wife had also an enormous cow, and 
a huge rib of the said cow was formerly exhibited at Mulgrave. This after- 
wards, however, turned out to be the rib of a whale." — Ord's Hist, of 
Cleveland. 

* DuGDALE's Baronage, vol 2, p. 387. 



MULGRAVE CASTLE. 303 

became extinct in 1735 ; and the title was revived in 
the person of Constantino Phipps, a captain in the 
royal navy, and a descendant of the Anglesey family, 
who was created baron Mulgrave, in Ireland, in 1767; 
and in the year 1774, a lease of the Mulgrave estate 
was confirmed to him for the sum of £3,000., and a 
quit rent of £1 ,200. per annum. In this family the 
estate yet continues. 

" The ancient castle of Mulgrave, having been gar- 
risoned by the king's forces, in the reign of Charles I., 
was afterwards dismantled by order of parliament.* '' 

" Mougreve castelle," says old Leland, '* standeth 
upon a craggy hill, and on echo side of it, is a hill far 
higher than that whereon the castle standeth. Upon 
the summit of the north hill, are certain stones, com- 
monly called Wadde's grave, whom the common people 
say was a giant and owner of Mougreve. Near these 
stones, is a beck, which cometh down out of the moors, 
supplied by many springs : two becks, one on each 
side of the castle, and in the valleys of the great hilles. 
The one is called Sandebeck, the other Estebeck, and 
soon go into the sea, which is at a little distance.^' 

The ruins are upon the ridge of a hill between two 
brooks, in a strong position, and now hid in the solitude 
of thick woods. The entrance into the baily, or court 
yard, on the north side, is between two circular towers ; 
one of them of considerable height, and covered with 
ivy. Outside the wall which has enclosed this court, 
is a moat, thickly overgrown with weeds and brush- 

Baines' Yorkshire, vol. 2, p. 492. 



304 MULGRAVE CASTLE. 

wood. The wall on the western side is flanked with 
buttresses, and thickly clad with ivy. The main body 
of the castle, or central keep, is of a square form, with 
a round tower at each corner ; but the whole is now 
in such a ruinous condition, that it is almost impossible 
to discriminate the different apartments ; yet, one 
fronting the south, with a large square window of 
seven lights, divided by a transom, may be supposed 
to have been the banquetting hall. In the south-east 
rounder, is a large fire-place, with herring-bone brick- 
work in the back. 

The whole of the area is overspread with stones and 
rubbish, thickly overgrown with grass and fern ; tall 
trees rise above the highest parts of the ruin, and 
tangled bushes obscure the lower portions. At the 
south-east angle of the outer wall, are the remains of 
a square tower, about twelve feet by nine, within, and 
two stories in height ; the lights are mere arrow-slits ; 
in the upper room, is a fireplace. Two or three farm 
houses have been built out of the ruins, and the thick 
growth of grass, weeds, bushes, and trees, threatens in 
a few years entirely to conceal the remainder. 

The present mansion, the residence of the marquis 
of JSTormanby, is also called Mulgrave castle, and is 
an elegant castellated mansion, and forms a very con- 
spicuous object from many points of view. The late 
Constantine John, lord Mulgrave, made considerable 
additions to the mansion, and improved the gardens 
and grounds in the vicinity. In one of the ofilces, 
in the stable yard, is a splendid specimen of the 



MULGRAVE CASTLE. 305 

Plesiosaurus Macrocephalus, being quite perfect, with 
the exception of a few joints which are wanting in 
one of the paddles. 

The situation of the mansion is elevated, and the 
views from it are romantic and highly beautiful, em- 
bracing a wide extent of hill and valley, wood and 
plain, sea and land. The ground in front, immediately 
declining to the south-east, opens a fine prospect of the 
sea, over Sandsend Bay, to the pier and harbour of 
Whitby, with ships passing and repassing ; the cliffs, 
with the magnificent ruins of the ancient abbey ; be- 
yond which rises the black promontory of Saltwick, 
with the white billows at its foot ; forming altogether 
a highly interesting and splendid picture. To the south- 
west is a picturesque view for miles, over lawns and 
woods agreeably intermixed. A summer day's ramble in 
this charming domain, is the most agreeable recreation 
imaginable ; sometimes the eye rests on the shaggy 
sides of thickly wooded slopes ; then glances down 
abrupt precipices, among which the tremendous Hell 
Scar is most prominent ; then again, the gazer is de- 
hghted by the sparkling flow of murmuring waters, or 
the calm expanse of artificial lakes ; sometimes the 
road winds under overarching boughs, like the solemn 
gloom of a cathedral roof ; then through sunny glades, 
or on the dizzy verge of steep cliffs ; the whole forming 
a landscape of the most luxuriant and enchanting 
kind. 



306 



#mslj0r0ug]^ llrinrg. 



Robert de Brus,"^" lord of Skelton, by the counsel 
and admonition of pope Calixtus IL, and Thurstan, 
archbishop of York, founded the priory of Guisborough 
in the year 1129, for canons regular of the order of 
St. Austin, and dedicated it to the virgin Mary. The 
founder died in 1141, and was buried in the priory, as 
were many of his descendants and relations ; it was 
also the common burial place of most of the nobility 
of those parts. 

Peter Fitz Peter de Brus, sixth lord of Skelton, was 
one of the barons who met at Runnymede, when 
Magna Charta was extorted from king John. He 
died in 1222, and was buried at Guisborough. 

In the reign of Edward IL A.D. 1289, the monas- 
tery was accidentally destroyed by fire, when all the 

* When David, king of Scotland, invaded England in 1138, this Robert de 
Brus had an ineffectual interview with him, near Northallerton, in order to 
induce him to withdraw his army. The battle of the standard was fought, 
and the Scottish army completely defeated. Besides founding and endowing 
the priory at Guisborough, he gave the church at Middlesborough, with 
large possessions, to Whitby abbey ; also the lordships of Appleton and 
Hornby to St. Mary's abbey, at York. His father was Robert de Brus, a 
Norman warrior, who came into England with the Conqueror, who gave him 
forty-three lordships in the east and west ridings, and fifty-one in the north 
riding of Yorkshire. The famous Robert Bruce, king of Scotland, was a 
descendant of this family. 



GUISBOROUGH PRIORY. 307 

>ooks, relics, and goods were consumed. In the 23rd 
of the same king's reign, the prior was summoned to 
)arliaraent. 

During the reign of Edward III. the estabhshment 
suffered severely from the depredations of pirates, and 
>ther marauders ; so much so, that, in 1375, the king 
granted a licence to the prior and canons to fortify 
md embattle the priory in such a manner as to protect 
them from further insult. 

In the same monarch's reign, Walter de Hemingford, 

the monkish historian, was a canon regular in this 

►riory. He compiled a history of England, from the 

forman Conquest to the year 1308 ; and died in 

347. 

King Henry IV. gave to this house the privilege of 
'ankpledge, waifs, strays, return of writs, &c. 
Some idea may be formed of the extent of the estab- 
lishment, when in the plenitude of its prosperity, from 
a MS. in the Cottonian Library, in which it is stated — 
" That the prior kept a most pompous house, insomuch 
that the towne, consystinge of five hundred house- 
holders, hade no lande, but lyved all on the abbay ; " 
and that, " a steward of theirs was turned out of office, 
because he had aforehand but oneley four hundred 
quarters of grayne to serve their house." 

The order of St. Augustine, to which the monks of 
this house belonged, originated in the eighth century, 
and was less strict than the other orders. At first the 
monks made no vows, but undertook to discharge the 
functions of the ministry in churches committed to 



308 GUISBOROUGli PRIORY. 

their charge ; but in the twelfth century a stricter rule 
was introduced ; by which the applicant for admission 
into the order relinquished all private property ; and 
should a canon by necessity be obliged to leave the 
house, he could take nothing away with him. Among 
other regulations, no one was to eat or drink out of the 
house ; no idle talk or gossiping was allowed, but they 
were to sit at their work in silence. Everything was 
deemed to be held in common. They were not to fix 
their eyes on women ; and were mutually to preserve 
each others modesty, when two together in a church 
where women were. Not to go to the bath, but by 
two or three, and then with the person appointed by 
the superior. The superior was to govern in charity ; 
to be strict in discipline, yet aim more to be loved 
than feared. 

The habits of these monks were a white tunic, with a 
linen gow^n under a black cloak, and a hood covering 
the head, neck, and shoulders. They wore caps on 
their heads, and suffered the beard to grow. 

This establishment flourished until the general disso- 
lution, when it was surrendered in 1540, by Robert 
Purseglove, alias Silvester, the last prior, who had a 
pension of £166. 13s. 4d. per annum, assigned him 
out of the revenues ; the gross yearly value at that 
time, was £712. 6s. 6d., and the net, £628. 3s. 4d.* 

* To this house belonged the churches of Barningham, Danby, Guis- 
borough, Kirk burn, Kirk Leavington, Marske in Cleveland, Stainton in 
Cleveland, and Upleatham, which were given by Robert de Brus. Walter 
Ingelrara gave the churches of Ingleby-ArnclifFe, and Welbury ; Arnold de 
Percy, the church of Ormsby ; William de Percy, the church of Crathorne ; 



GUISBOROUGH PRIORY. 309 

The site was granted in the fourth year of Edward VI. 
A.D. 1550, to Sir Thomas Chaloner and his heirs, in 
which family it has continued ever since, Robert 
Chaloner, Esq., being the present owner. 

Few monastic ruins can boast of the stately gran- 
deur of the remains of this priory. The east end of 
the church is the chief part now remaining, and from 
its beauty and majestic proportions, we may form some 
idea of what the church was when in its complete 
state. This front is about one hundred feet in length, 
supported by four massive buttresses, each projecting 
eight feet from the wall at the base, flanked at the 
angles by two others, while at the extreme point is 
another, smaller ; thus making a cluster of three at 
each corner. The buttresses are finished with triangu- 
lar caps, crockets and finials, differing slightly from 
each other in design, but all of the most chaste and 
beautiful workmanship. The first buttress from the 
north-east corner is plain ; next to it is a window, into 
what has been the north aisle of the choir, deeply 
moulded, and finely foliated at the springing of the 
arch, the sweep of which has been filled with quatrefoil 
tracery ; the lower part has been of three hghts ; the 

Robert Sturmi, the church of Marton in Cleveland ; Roger de Rosel, the 
church of Easington in Cleveland ; Alverdus, the church of Acklam in Cleve- 
land ; Robert de Lascell, the church of East Harlsey ; William de Sauncy, 
the church of Lofthouse ; Henry Fitz Conan, the church of Liverton ; and 
Peter de Cordeville, the church of Sherburn in Harford-dale. This house 
had also the church of Hessle, and that of Seamer in Cleveland, Wilton in 
Cleveland, Thornaby, West Heslerton, with East Heslerton chapel, and 
Yarm ; also Bridekirk in Cumberland, and several churches in Scotland, 

Lawton's Religious Houses of Yorkshire, p. 75. 



310 GUISBOROUGH PRIORY, 

mullions are gone, but part of the upper tracery re- 
mains hanging to the top of the arch. Above this 
window is a small opening of two trefoil-headed lights, 
under a square canopy. 

The next buttress adjoins the great east window ; 
level with the bottom of which, in the face of the but- 
tress, is a niche, now tenantless, with a trefoil head, 
and a triangular crocketed canopy, terminated by a 
finial ; this buttress has a plain, triangular cap, and 
above it rises a crocketed octagonal spire. The east 
window is twenty-four feet wide, and of an enormous 
height ; the sweep of the arch has been filled with 
quatrefoil tracery, fragments of which yet remain. The 
inner mouldings have been ornamented with foilage 
and niches. The wall beneath the window has been 
broken down to the ground ; the gap is now filled up 
with high paling and a gate. Above the large window 
is another, which has lighted the roof, of five lights, 
the outer of which have trefoil heads ; above the 
middle one is a quatrefoild. 

The windows and buttresses on the south side, are 
similar in appearance and dimensions to those on the 
north, with the exception of the second buttress from 
the centre window, which is elaborately ornamented 
with trefoil and quatrefoil pannelling. Above each of 
the four main buttresses are as many crocketed octa- 
gonal spires, which have a fine effect. The whole front 
forms a most splendid specimen of decorated architec- 
ture, and makes us regret that no more of this large 
and splendid church has escaped the hands of the 



GUISBOROUGH PRIORY. 811 

spoiler. The area of the church is now a level, grassy 
[lawn, with a double row of walnut trees growing 

ithin it ; their bulk showing that the church has been 
'destroyed to its foundation at a very early period after 
fthe dissolution. Not a vestige of the transept or nave 
rremains ; a round headed archway, leading out of the 
street west of the church, is the only other fragment 
which can be identified as having belonged to the 
monastery. A fragment of the ruin is now occupied 
as a wine vault, from which a subterraneous passage is 
said to lead to Plantation in Toccotes, a distance of a 
mile and a half. Such passages are said by tradition 
exist in all monastic buildings, as well as castles, 
where we might suppose they would be more necessary. 

fo doubt in many places such passages existed. There 
& a peculiarity, however, attending this underground 
road, which few of the others can boast of. " Midway 
is an enormous chest of gold, guarded by a raven, or 
crow, which keeps incessant watch over the precious 

jontents. Once only was the treasure invaded, by a 

>erson who hoped to appropriate some of the ingots ; 

)ut when he had reached the box, its guardian, the 
'aven, suddenly became transformed into his Satanic 
Majesty, who belaboured the intruder with such terrible 
severity, and otherwise excited such a fright, that 
neither he, nor any other person, ever ventured within 
the precincts afterwards.'^ ''^ 

The situation of Guisborough is very pleasant ; the 
town consists chiefly of one main street, running 

* Oed's Cleveland. 



312 GUISBOROUGH PRIORY. 

nearly east and west, and is tolerably well built. It 
has a railway communication with Middlesborough, 
and is about eight miles from Eedcar. Among the 
other attractions of this place, is a mineral spring, 
discovered in 1822, about a mile south-east of the 
town ; the water is said to be efficacious in bilious, 
rheumatic, and scorbutic complaints ; but is not so 
much frequented as it deserves to be. The town pre- 
sents ample accommodation for invalids, and the 
scenery and associations of the surrounding country 
present abundant sources of enjoyment for the lovers 
of natural beauty. 



31; 



mnt #raa ^rbrg. 



About two miles from the village of Osmotherlej, 
and one from the once busy Cleveland Tontine Inn, 
are the ruins of the priory of Mount Grace. 

About the year 1396, Thomas Holland, duke of 
Surry, earl of Kent, and lord Wake, founded this 
house for monks of the Carthusian order, and dedicated 
it to the blessed Virgin and St. Nicholas. He gave to 
it his own manor of Brodelby, and obtained of king 
Richard 11. the lands of three alien priories for his 
new foundation. This beginning of prosperity was, 
however, soon interrupted ; for the founder was one of 
the nobles who, in the year 1400, entered into a con- 
spiracy to dethrone king Henry IV. The project, 
however, failed, and the earls of Kent and Salisbury 
were siezed at Cirencester, by the citizens, and next 
day beheaded without further ceremony, according to 
the barbarous custom of the times. This fatal event 
delayed the buildings of the monastery ; and even the 
right of the monks to their possession was questioned, 
till Henry VI., in 1449, confirmed in parliament the 
founder's grant to them. The buildings were then 
completed, and the austere brethren continued on the 
spot until the general dissolution. 

The rule of the Carthusians was the most rigid 



314 MOUNT GRACE PRIORY. 

and severe of all the monastic orders ; only another 
house of them existed in Yorkshire,'"' and but nine in 
all England. They were a branch of the Benedictines, 
whose rule they observed with many austerities. Their 
order was founded about 1084, by Bruno, a native of 
Cologne, at Chartreux, in Dauphine. By their rule, 
which was confirmed by pope Alexander III., about 
the year 1174, the monks were restrained from eating 
flesh. King Henry XL brought this order into England 
about A.D. 1180, and their first house was founded at 
Witham, in Somersetshire. No nunneries of their 
order were ever established in this country. 

Along with their austerities, they practised a great 
many superstitious gestures and ceremonies, such as 
having their faces totally hid at the canon of the mass ; 
(words of consecrating the Eucharist ;) shewn at other 
times ; fingers not clenched ; legs not extended, spread, 
or crossed. Private prayer at the altar once a day, 
ommitted when any frailty had been incurred. Silence 
in the cell; cell door not open, unless another person was 
with the inhabitant. If any brother came to the cell, 
he was interrogated whether he had the prior's, or his 
substitute's licence ; if not, the butler or porter was to 
procure it, otherwise they could not be conversed with. 
'No conversation with persons coming up without the 
prior's licence. Not to enter the cells of others with- 
out licence. No letters to be sent or received. Not 
to leave the cell, except to confession or conference by 

* At Kingston-upon-Hull, founded by Michael de la Pole, afterwards earl 
of Suffolk, in the time of king Edward III. 



MOUNT GRACE PRIORY. 315 

the prior's order. No pottage or pittance, only raw 
herbs and fruits, to be kept in the cell. Every in- 
habitant to have two books to read, besides other 
writing and necessary utensils. In chapter, no speech 
but at confession, or when the chapter was held. In 
the refectory, dining bareheaded ; drinking with two 
hands ; bowing to those who brought or removed any- 
thing ; no wiping of hands or mouths at the cloth. 
No speech in the fratry, cloister, or church.'''"^ 

Such were a few of the rules of this order ; by 
which it will be seen, that the discipline of their houses 
much resembled that of a prison ; and by no order of 
rehgious was their rule kept with so much strictness 
as by these. 

The habits of the Carthusians were entirely white, 
except a plaited black cloak. Their bed was of straw, 
and on it a felt or coarse cloth ; their covering of 
sheep skins, and the coarsest cloth ; their clothing, two 
hair cloths, two cowls, two pairs of hose, cloak, &c., 
all coarse, f 

The revenues of this house, at the dissolution, were 
found to be £882. 5s. Hid. gross, and £323. 2s. lO^d. 
net. John Wilson was the last prior. The site was 
granted, 22nd of Henry VIIL, (1540,) to James 
Straingwaies, who shortly afterwards disposed of it to 
Thomas Lascelles, who added an embattled entrance, 
and converted part of it into a mansion ; his initials, 
T. L., and the date 1569, yet remain over the principal 

* Fosbroke, Brit. Moiiach., chap. VI. 
t Ibid, chap. LIX. 



816 MOUNT GRACE PRIORY. 

door. It was subsequently sold by the Rev. Robert 
Lascelles to the Mauleverers, in the representative of 
which family it yet remains ; William Mauleverer, 
Esq., of Arncliffe Hall, being the present owner. 

The situation of this ruin is gloomy and secluded, 
at the foot of a steep, thickly-wooded hill. In the 
winter season, the sun would have to rise high before 
its beams could disperse the gloom lying around the 
lonely monastery. This gloom might, however, be 
congenial to the austere life of its inhabitants. The 
part converted, by Thomas Lascelles, into a mansion, 
is now inhabited by workmen on the estate ; its aspect 
is more modern than the rest, having windows in the 
Tudor style. The western front is of great length, 
flanked by more than a dozen buttresses of four stages 
each. The southern end is mantled with ivy of the 
most luxuriant growth ; near the entrance, is one 
gigantic plant of an uncommon kind, distinguished by 
the smallness of its leaf from the common ivy. The 
entrance into the enclosure is thirteen feet wide, under 
a triple arch. The whole area of the buildings is 
about five acres, divided into two parts, and now 
devoted to pasturage. Turning to the right of the 
entrance, we come upon the foundations of a range of 
buildings eighteen feet wide within, by one hundred in 
length, extending along the whole of that part of the 
western front. It has been two stories in height ; the 
lower of which does not appear to have had any 
windows into it from the west, and the wall on the 
other side is broken down. The upper story has been 



MOUNT GRACE PRIORY. 317 

lighted by five square-headed windows of two hghts 
each, now almost hid by the compact growth of ivy. 
This room is supposed to have been the refectory, 
though its distance from the kitchen rather militates 
against the conjecture. Along the southern side, has 
also been a range of buildings, twenty feet wide ; the 
upper part lighted by a range of square-headed win- 
dows of two lights each, opening to the south ; the 
outer wall is yet of the original height ; the inner is 
broken down to the ground ; the gable, at the east 
end, is yet complete. The lofty outer wall is con- 
tinued along the east side, close to the foot of the 
wooded hill. At the south-east corner, a little within 
the wood, is the well that supplied the monastery, — a 
spring of pure water, enclosed and covered with a 
stone dome ; it yet bears the name of St. John's well. 
The remains of the church are on the north side of 
this division, and are the most picturesque part of the 
ruins ; the nave, transept, tower, and north wall of 
the choir, yet remain of considerable height. It is of 
the usual cruciform shape, with a slender square tower 
rising at the junction of the cross. The chancel is 
about forty feet in length, by thirty in breadth ; the 
east end, and south side walls, have disappeared, and a 
large ash tree has grown within since it was abandoned 
by the austere monks. The north wall yet remains 
about half its length, of the original height, with two 
windows of three lights each. The nave is about 
forty-five feet in length,. by twenty seven in breadth ; 
the walls are nearly complete. The north transept is 



318 MOUNT GRACE PRIORY. 

nine feet in length from the line of the nave, and 
twenty-two in breadth. A piscina in the wall yet 
points out the place where an altar has stood. The 
south transept is of the same breadth as the north, but 
twenty-two feet in length. Part of the tracery yet 
remains in the great south window of this transept ; 
it has been of five lights, with sixfoil heads, apparently 
belonging to the perpendicular era. The tower is 
about fourteen feet square, and stands on the eastern 
side of the transept, resting on four neat pointed 
arches. The winding stone staircase, which is very 
narrow, yet remains nearly perfect, only a few steps on 
the upper part being broken down. It has only led 
into the chamber where the bells have been rung, 
about half way up the tower. The upper part of the 
tower is so wreathed round with a compact mass of 
ivy, that no part of the stonework on the outside can 
be seen. It is apparently of its original height. 

Passing from the church, by a doorway high in the 
wall, on the north, we enter another enclosure, which 
may be denominated the quadrangle ; it is surrounded 
by a high wall, in which may yet be seen the doorways 
into the cells of the monks, which have been arranged 
around it, twenty in number, five on each side of the 
square. Many of the doorways are now walled up. 
On one side of the entrance of each is a singular 
opening, about a foot square, passing about half way 
through the wall, then turning at a right angle into 
the doorway, just beyond where the door has been, 
through which anything of moderate size might be 



MOUNT GRACE PRIORY. 319 

given to the inmate within, without opening the door. 
Opposite the north transept, in a recess in the wall, is 
a long, shallow trough, hollowed out of a large stone, 
about forty inches in length, by ten in breadth, with a 
semicircular bottom. There are two holes by which 
water might run out of it, one at the bottom, and 
another at one end. Our first impression was, that it 
had been the piscina of an altar ; though perhaps it 
was only a receptacle for water, in which the monks 
performed ablutions before entering the church, after 
leaving their cells. The only shield and arms we saw 
about the place was carved in stone, on each side of a 
doorway leading into a cell ; at the south-east corner 
of this inclosure, a bend, with something like a port- 
cullis over it. The cells have been ranged completely 
round this inclosure. They have been about twenty 
feet square each, and two stories in height ; three 
windows appear to have lighted the lower rooms, at 
least those on the gloomy eastern side ; each of them 
has also had a fire-place ; and upon the whole, do not 
appear to have been entirely destitute of comfort. 
There also appears to have been a small chapel, or 
private confessional, attached to each cell, if we may 
judge from what appears to have been the piscina of 
an altar, in a small apartment on the side of every 
cell. But the arrangement of the ofiices, cells, and all 
parts of the monastic buildings, are so difi"erent from 
those of the Benedictine and Cistercian houses, that 
no elucidation of the distribution of the apartments 
can be obtained from a comparison with the well 



320 MOUNT GRACE PRIORY. 

known plans, on which they were generally built ; nor, 
indeed, do any of the monastic ruins in the county 
present any similarity to this ; it is doubly interesting 
as the unique specimen of a Carthusian house in 
Yorkshire. 

No tombs, or inscriptions of any kind are visible ; 
an excavation of the site would probably disclose many 
interesting curiosities, as well as many peculiarities in 
the economy, of this the most austere of the monastic 
orders. Nor would it be difficult, or expensive to 
make the site of this monastery one of the most 
pleasing and interesting spots in the north riding ; 
clear out the ruins and rubbish from the church, cells, 
and other buildings ; form the area into a lawn, or 
orchard, intersected with walks, and adorned with 
shrubs and flowers, and it would form an object not 
easily surpassed in attraction. The kitchen is in the 
southern inclosure, west of the church, and is in such a 
complete state, that, if it were roofed in, it would yet 
answer its original purpose ; the chimney is yet of its 
full height ; part of the oven for baking bread, built of 
bricks, yet stands ; and the stones at the back of the 
ample fire-place are yet red from its former fires. 

On the western side was situate the mill, that neces- 
sary adjunct of every monastic establishment ; the 
remains of the fish-ponds, equally indispensable, can 
yet be traced ; and it only requires time and industry 
to develope the whole domestic arrangements of this 
singular monastic foundation. On the summit of the 
hill, eastward of the priory, near the place where the 



MOUNT GRACE PRIORY. 321 

building stone has been procured, are the remains of a 
building called the Lady Chapel, founded in 1515 ; it 
is not easy of approach, and not much visited. 

Free access is allowed by the owner of Mount Grace 
to visitors ; and if it is not so much frequented as some 
ruins, it is more owing to the remoteness of its situa- 
tion, and the difficulty of approach by railway, than to 
any want of attraction on its part, or of liberality on 
the part of its owner. 



Three miles south-east of the town of Middleham, 
close to the river Ure, near the road leading from 
Masham, and at the bottom of the great valley of 
Wensley, are the ruins of Jervaux abbey. The beau- 
ties of this spot are of the softest and most delicious 
kind ; rich, park-like pastures, with here a clump, and 
there a single tree ; the noble river winding along, now 
dark in shade, now gleaming in sunlight ; hills rising 
around, — not wild and bare, but rich and well culti- 
vated, — form the outside framing of the picture in 
which this interesting gem of antiquity is enclosed. 
The care bestowed on the conservation of the ruins is 
beyond all praise ; nothing can be neater than the 
walks and well trimmed lawns, contrasting admirably 
with the hoary ruins around them ; nature's perennial 
beauties, softened by culture, are thus mingled with 
the fading glories of human art. 

In the reign of king Stephen, about the year 1144, 
Peter de Quincy, with certain other monks of Savigny, 
in Normandy, had granted to them by Akar Fitz 
Bardolph, lands at Fors, near Askrigg ; where they 
founded a religious house, of the Cistercian order, in 
1150; John de Kingston being the first abbot. The 
grant was confirmed by Alan Niger, earl of Richmond ; 



JERVAUX ABBEY. 323 

subsequently the establishment was made dependant 
on the abbey of Byland, and a colony of monks was 
sent from thence to occupy the new monastery. But 
the monks of Byland did not relish the change ; the 
climate of Fors was bleak and inhospitable, the lands 
were sterile, and exposed to inclement winds ; so that 
the monks suffered greatly, and for five years they 
were all but starved. In 1156, Conan, fifth earl of 
Richmond, granted them lands at East Witton, to 
which they removed, bearing the bones of Akar and 
his lady along with them. This was done with the 
consent of Harveus, son of Akar, who took care to 
reserve to himself the patronage of the abbey, as well 
as the prayers of the monks, usually offered up for the 
founder and his relations. 

In a well selected situation they built a stately 
church, and all the other necessary monastic buildings ; 
where they continued, in wealth and prosperity, until 
the despoiler Henry laid his rapacious hands on the 
house, scattered the monks, and seized their posses- 
sions, in the year 1538. The gross value at that time, 
in temporalities and spiritualities, was £455. 10s. 5d. 
and the net £234. 18s. 5d. 

There was a succession of twenty-three abbots at 
Jervaux, the last of whom was Adam Sedbergh, who 
took part in the Pilgrimage of Grace, and was executed 
at Tyburn, with others of Aske's misguided followers, 
in 1537. The lead was then taken off the roof, the 
fabric despoiled of its valuables, and the walls after- 
wards broken down and demolished. 



324 JERVAUX ABBEY. 

The site of the abbey was leased for twenty-one 
years to Lancelot Harrison ; and in the 30th of Henry 
Vni. it was granted to Matthew, earl of Lennox, and 
Margaret, his wife. It is now the property of the earl 
of Ailesbury. 

In the church were buried many of the neighbouring 
nobility and patrons of the abbey ; — as the founder, 
Akar, and his lad}^ ; Harveus Fitz Akar, who died 
in 1182 ; Henry Fitz Randolph, in 1262 ; and his 
daughter-in-law, Albreda, wife of Hugh Fitz Henry, 
lord of Ravensworth. Henry Fitz Henry, grandson of 
Hugh and Albreda, died in his father's life time, 1352, 
and was buried at the foot of the high altar. His 
second son and heir, Henry, was likewise buried before 
the high altar, October 25th, 1386. Henry, lord Fitz 
Hugh, his son and successor, who accompanied Henry 
V. in his wars in France, who died January 11th, 
1424 ; and his lady, who died three years afterwards, 
were both buried here. It is the mutilated effigy of 
this illustrious warrior which is yet seen at the eastern 
extremity of the centre aisle. 

So complete had been the work of demolition, that, 
with the exception of some few arches and fragments 
of wall, nothing was to be seen where the abbey had 
stood, but rough wood, briars, and a succession of green 
mounds. The stones had been employed in the build- 
ing of walls and houses in the neighbourhood, and even 
for repairing the roads. This state of things continued 
until the late earl of Ailesbury visited the place in 
1805 ; and amongst a great variety of improvements 



JERYAIJX ABBEY. 325 

projected upon his estate, was much pleased with an 
experiment made by his steward, in digging down to 
the bottom of one of the arches, which proved to be 
the door of the abbey church, and led to a beautiful 
tesselated floor. His lordship directed the whole of 
the ruin to be explored and cleared out ; which was 
done in 1806, and the following year, at a considerable 
expense. The site was then enclosed, partly by a sunk 
fence, and partly by a wall ; and the grounds, with the 
exception of the interior of the buildings, tastefully 
planted with evergreens and flowers. 

The site of the abbey church, with its aisles, choir, 
and transepts, the chapter house, abbot's house, garden, 
kitchen, refectory, cloisters, and other offices, can all be 
easily and distinctly identified. No monastic ruin in 
the kingdom presents a more complete ground-plan 
than this. 

The church is 270 feet in length, and of ample 
breadth ; the bases of the columns which sustained the 
roof, and divided the aisles from the nave, are yet 
remaining. The side walls are very little elevated 
above the soil. A gravel walk now leads down the 
centre aisle. When the ruins were first excavated, 
this aisle was found laid with a tesselated pavement, 
in. geometrical figures ; but, though the covering which 
had shut it out from the light of the sun had preserved 
it from actual decomposition, the hand of time, though 
unseen, had been at work, and rendered the beautiful 
mosaic so frail, that the action of the air, and the rude 
blasts of winter, soon reduced it to dust. In this aisle, 






3^6 JERVAUX ABBEY. 

many monuments of the dead were uncovered, and yet 
remain, telling the tale of ages past unto the present. 
Proceeding from the west entrance towards the high 
altar, the first we come to is a mutilated slab, without 
inscription. The next is a slab bearing a cross. The 
third bears a cross and chalice, with the inscription 

T. DVNWELL CANO^ SCI. LEONARDI EBOR. 

Other two slabs, one of them broken, bear crosses ; 
the next, in good preservation, bears a floriated cross, 
chalice, and host, with this inscription : — 

ASKARTH CONTEGITUR SAXI HOC SUB MOLE BRIANUS 
CUI DEUS ETERNA DET LUCE FRUI. 

Other two slabs bear crosses. In the south transept 
is a large slab, charged with a cross, and a sword on 
the right side. Before the high altar lies a statue of 
lord Fitz Hugh, the crusader, in link mail ; the armo- 
rial bearings on his shield are distinctly visible. Dr. 
Whitaker says, he saw another fragment, bearing the 
same arms impaling Marmion. 

Behind the high altar, under the east window of the 
south aisle, is a stone, with a cross and chalice, and 
inscribed 

f it jaat in tomta SKills. nmim Saltoj 
C0nBta^it tatafa in kxmu totena. 

Under the window, at the east end of the north 
aisle, stands an altar, yet entire, with five crosses cut 
upon the top, and the recess in front, whence the relics 
were torn. There were seven altars besides this in the 
church. There is a stone coffin in the north aisle of 



JERVAUX ABBEY. 327 

the choir, near seven feet long, but very narrow. From 
these monuments we may form some idea of what this 
great church was in the day of its completeness and 
splendour. 

The chapter-house, adjoining the end of the south 
transept, has been a noble apartment, of an oblong 
form, forty-eight feet by thirty-five feet ; the roof has 
been supported by six hexagonal columns of grey 
marble, with richly foliated capitals, from which sprung 
the ribs of a groined arch. The stone benches, on 
which the brethren sat in council, yet remain round the 
sides of the apartment. So much of the stone work 
yet remains comparatively uninjured, that it would not 
be difficult to restore this noble apartment. Here has 
been the burial place of the abbots ; five plain stones 
yet remain, commemorating as many of the superiors 
of the house. The inscription on the tomb of John de 
Kingston, the first abbot, and builder of the abbey, is 
quite legible, though seven hundred years old. 

TUMBA : JOH'eS I p'mI I ABB'iS : JORVALLIS. 

William, the third abbot, is yet remembered in brief 
terms ; 

TUMBA : will'i tercii : abb'is : joreval. 

Eustache, the fifth abbot, Hes beneath a stone in- 
scribed, — 

TUMBA : EU — CHii : q'nti : ABBATIS DE jorevall. 

John, the eighth abbot's tombstone, bears, — 

TUMBA : JOH'iS : OCTABIS : JOREVALL : DEFUNCTL 



328 JERVAUX ABBEY. 

Another stone bears a cross and chalice, between a 
croiser and mitre, and in old English characters, — 

®wmta: I'ri k —^t Jtbtafo |f||. |0rtal 

This was Peter de Snape, the seventeenth abbot, 
who died about 1430. 

The chronicler called John of Brompton, was the 
nineteenth abbot of this house, but here is no memo- 
rial of him. His history extends from the arrival of 
Augustine, A. D. 588, to the death of Richard I. A. D. 
1198. Its principal value is the information it gives 
relative to the Saxon times. 

The great kitchen is easily distinguished by its 
gigantic fire-place ; the apertures in the wall yet re- 
main, through which the viands, when prepared, were 
handed into the refectory for consumption. 

The cloisters are marked by the bases of a row of 
pillars, running down the middle of the space they 
have occupied. The quadrangle is now a smooth lawn. 
The refectory is easily found, from its proximity to the 
kitchen. The walls here are a little higher than in 
any other part of the building, and exhibit the transi- 
tion style from Norman to early English. The abbot's 
house stood on the south-east of the other buildings, 
and appears to have consisted of a great number of 
small apartments. 

Though Jervaux exhibits little more than a ground 
plan, it is full of sepulchral monuments, and in many 
respects yields in interest to no abbey in the county. 



32.9 



Coijjerl^am ^tkg. 



At a distance of three miles from Jervaux, in the 
otherwise not very interesting valley of Coverdale, lie 
scattered the remains of the abbey of Coverham. This 
was a house of Premonstratention canons ; first found- 
ed at Swainby, in the parish of Pickhill, by Helewisia, 
daughter and heiress of Ralph de Glanville, lord chief 
justice of England, in the latter part of the reign of 
Henry 11. In 1214, Ralph Fitz Robert, her son, 
translated the establishment from Swainby to Cover- 
ham, near to his manor-house at Middleham, where an 
abbey was built, which flourished until the suppression 
of the lesser monasteries in 1538. 

This house had the churches of Coverham, given by 
Ralph Fitz Robert, of Middleham ; Downholme, by 
the lords Scrope of Bolton ; Kettlewell, by the lords 
Gray, of Rotherfield ; and Sedburgh, by Sir Ralph de 
Scrope. It had also the rectory of Seaham, in the 
county of Durhani. They were also possessed of 
nearly all Coverdale. Fitz Robert, the founder, gave 
them all his lands there, from Harebec to Tadike, 
across the valley from Whernside to Waldene. 

In the reign of Edward II., the incursions of the 
Scots upon their lands, reduced the canons to poverty ; 
when the king granted them license to acquire lands 



330 COVERHAM ABBEY. 

of ten marks value. Their last acquisition was Cover- 
head or Slapegill. 

Christopher Rokesby, who was elected in 1528, was 
the last abbot of this house. The gross annual reve- 
nues were £207. 14s. 7d. per annum, and the net 
£160. 18s. 3d. The site of the abbey was granted, 
3rd and 4th Philip and Mary, to Humphrey Orme and 
Cicilia his wife. 

The remains of the building are but few ; a hand- 
some modern house having been erected out of the 
ruins. The outline of the church can yet be traced, 
and four arches of the nave remain ; but the greater 
part of the site is occupied by farm buildings, or 
rubbish. The outline of the cloister quadrangle is also 
perceptible. At a little distance from the house is a 
beautiful arched gateway, yet entire, under which the 
high road passes. In the walls of Mrs. Lister's house 
are many inscribed stones, among which may be men- 
tioned one with a sacred monogram, surmounted by a 
cornet, with a falcon on the right, and the letter A on 
the left ; beneath is inscribed, — 

W^mi fjmt pM. $nm g^tii, W piptea'0 i|||/ 
ist' Umum fdidUx fintoit 

Some buildings now occupied as cottages may have 
formed part of the abbot's lodgings. Over one door is 
inscribed, — 

Over another is the falcon and A, with %, J[, S» 



COVERHAM ABBEY. 331 

Also three shields, with T. M. and a cross patonce. 
On a broken stone is this imperfect inscription, — 

DEI. REGINA. C(ELI. d'nA OR ADVOCATiE FIDELIUM. 

Here are also three monumental effigies ; two of 
them, placed on the sides of a gateway, are nearly 
perfect ; they have most probably adorned the tombs 
of three of Middleham's early lords. The figures are 
in armour, with surcoats ; the hands of one of them are 
folded in the attitude of prayer ; the other seems to 
have had his hand on the hilt of his sword, but it is 
broken ; at his side are represented two dogs chasing a 
stag, whilst a third playfully bites the knight's scab- 
bard. Both are cross-legged. The third is merely a 
torso. 

Of the church-yard at Coverham, which contains 
little more than an acre of land, it is truly said, that in 
one place in it, you can neither see the church, nor 
hear the sound of the bells ; a sudden descent on the 
south side completely obstructing the view, and the 
noise of a rapid stream, and water mill, completely 
drowns the music of the bells. 



332 



Mkl^am Castk 



Proudly overlooking the little town that nestles at 
its foot, and commanding extensive and beautiful views 
of the valley of Wensleydale, stands the castle of 
Middleham ; like some old time-worn warrior, frowning 
in grim majesty upon the peaceful scenes around him ; 
carrying back the mind to the distant days when force 
and fraud alternately ruled a suffering land. Here 
dwelt the mighty Nevilles, one of the most potent 
families in the north, one of whose members was the 
renowned Richard, earl of Warwick, the " king maker." 

In the time of Edward the Confessor, the manor of 
Middleham was in the hands of Ghilepatric. The 
exterminating sword of the Norman Conqueror laid it 
waste ; and in that condition it was given to Alan, earl 
of Richmond, along with the other domains of the 
Saxon earl Edwin. Alan gave Middleham to his brother 
Ribald ; who, after the death of his wife Beatrix, be- 
came a monk of St. Mary's, at York. 

Ralph Fitz Ribald, had confirmation of Middleham, 
and all lands his father possessed when he became a 
monk, from his uncle Stephen, earl of Richmond, by 
charter, and delivery of a Danish axe. 

Ralph, by his wife, Agatha, daughter of Robert de 
Brus, of Skelton, had a son, named Robert Fitz Ralph ; 



MIDDLEHAM CASTLE. 333 

who founded and built the castle of Middleham. He 
probably also founded and built the church at Middle- 
ham. He married Helewisa, daughter of the famous 
justiciary of Henry II., Ralph de Glanville. She, in 
her widowhood, founded the monastery of Swainby, 
near Pickhill, which her son, Ranulph Fitz Robert, 
removed to Coverham. 

Ralph Fitz Ranulph, his son, was founder of the 
Friar's Minor, at Richmond. He was the last male of 
these lords of Middleham, and dying in 1270, was 
interred at two places, — ^his bones in the choir of 
Coverham, among his ancestors ; but his heart in the 
place of his affections, in the choir of the Grey Friars, 
at Richmond. 

The lordship of Middleham now passed to the fair 
and gentle Mary, daughter of the last lord. She mar- 
ried Robert Neville, lord of Raby ; w^hom she saw sink 
into a premature grave, the victim of an outraged 
husband's revenge ; for being detected in a criminal 
conversation with a lady in Craven, he was emasculated 
by the enraged husband ; of which he soon after died, 
June 9th, 1270, and was buried in the choir of Cover- 
ham abbey. In 1316, his widow founded a chantry 
for the health of his soul, her own, and those of her 
father and mother, and all their ancestors and heirs. 

Mary remained a widow nearly fifty years, and 
dying in 1320, was buried in Coverham choir, beside 
her husband. 

Ralph Neville, her only child, had succeeded his 
grandfather at Raby ; but paid little attention to 



334 MIDDLEHAM CASTLE. 

secular business, and was fonder of the society of the 
canons of Coverham, than of enjoying the high Kfe of 
the day in his castles and manors. His indolence 
induced Mary to settle her manors on her grandson, 
Robert Neville, a brave, but vain and lawless man, 
commonly called " the Peacock of the North." He 
died in a border fight, to which he had dared the earl 
of Douglas. 

Ralph Neville, his younger brother, was the hero of 
" Neville's Cross," and gained a more noble place of 
sepulture than the abbey of Coverham, — the nave of 
Durham cathedral. 

John, lord Neville, was a highly chivalrous character, 
serving in the wars in Scotland, France, and even 
Turkey. He was retained by John of Gaunt, to serve 
him during life. At his death, in 1388, he was seized 
of more than sixty manors. 

Ralph Neville, the great earl of Westmorland, was 
the next lord of Middleham. He obtained a charter 
from Richard II. for a weekly market here, and a 
yearly fair on the feast of St. Alkelda the virgin ; a 
local saint, of whom nothing certain appears to be 
known. It was he who enlarged the castle of Middle- 
ham, as the old square tower of Fitz Ranulph was 
found incapable of accommodating his large train of 
followers and retainers. This earl deserted Richard II. 
when the sun of his prosperity was near setting, to 
ally himself to Henry Bolingbroke, afterwards king 
Henry IV. He it was who circumvented, and took 
prisoner, archbishop Scrope, and his principal followers, 



MIDDLEHAM CASTLE. 335 

in the forest of Galtres, near York, when in arms 
against his patron Henry, in the year 1405. His 
character is well known, from Shakespere's skilful de- 
lineation, in the first part of Henry IV. 

Richard, earl of Salisbury, who had married the 
heiress of the Montacutes, succeeded to Middleham, on 
his father's death, in 1425. It was on the towers of 
Middleham castle that he displayed the standard of the 
white rose, in 1459 ; and from thence he marched up 
Coverdale, and through Craven, into Lancashire, at the 
head of four thousand Richmondshire men. Shortly 
afterwards, he fought the battle of Bloreheath, in 
Staffordshire, in which the forces of king Henry YI. 
were defeated, with the loss of 2,400 men, and the 
death of lord Audley, their leader. 

The earl following the fortunes of Richard, duke of 
York, in the following year was wounded and taken 
prisoner, at the battle of Wakefield Green, and soon 
after beheaded by the red rose faction. 

Sir John Neville, brother of the second earl of West- 
morland, was appointed constable of Middleham castle, 
in the 38th of Henry VI., it being then in the king's 
hands by Sahsbury's forfeiture. 

The ascendancy of the house of York again restored 
Middleham to its rightful owners ; and Richard Neville, 
the dreaded " king maker,'' was its lord ; and having 
married the wealthy heiress of the Beauchamps, had 
through her, the fortress of the Baliols, at Barnard 
castle. Edward IV. was frequently at Middleham, 
the guest of Warwick, before the defection of that 



336 MIDDLEHAM CASTLE. 

nobleman. The story of Edward's confinement in the 
castle is now proved, by authentic documents, to be a 
fiction. 

Richard, duke of Gloucester, brother of king Edward, 
having married Ann, daughter and heiress of the king 
making earl, and the latter having been slain at the 
the battle of Barnet, became lord of the towers of 
Middleham. 

In September, 1471, the captain of the earl of 
Warwick's navy, commonly called the bastard Falcon- 
bridge, was beheaded in Middleham castle, by order of 
the duke of Gloucester, although he had the king's 
pardon. 

Richard loved to reside in his northern castles ; and 
at Middleham, his only son Edward was born, in 1473. 
It was the intention of Richard to have founded a 
college at this place ; but that design was frustrated by 
his death ; he however made the church collegiate, and 
raised the rectory to a deanery. 

From the death of Richard, to the present time, this 
castle is scarcely mentioned in history. 

In the first year of Henry YIII. Sir William Conyers 
was made constable of Middleham castle ; from whom 
the claim of the dukes of Leeds to hold that ofiice is 
derived. 

In 1609, the castle was inhabited by Sir Henry 
Lindley ; and it was probably occupied until about 
1644. It does not appear that it was garrisoned by 
either party, during the great civil war ; yet tradition 
says that it was taken by Oliver Cromwell. But this is 



MIDDLEHAM CASTLE. 037 

not supported bj written evidence. Besides, Cromwell's 
name is associated with the destruction of almost every 
castle and abbev in the county. 

In 1646, the committee sitting at York ordered this 
castle to be made untenable, and no garrison to be 
maintained therein. Gunpowder has been the agent 
employed, and even with that the work of demolition 
has been very imperfectly done ; the excellent cement 
and great thickness of the walls having resisted the 
miner's blast. The destroyers have been at great 
pains in extracting the lead and iron, forming the 
fastenings of the doors and windows, from the walls. 

The ruins are to the south of the town, lofty and 
extensive ; in the form of a parallelogram, measuring 
210 feet by 175 feet; with a square tower at each 
angle, with the exception of that at the south-west 
corner, which is semicircular ; there is also a tower in 
the middle of the western side. The central part of 
the building is that which was built by Fitz Ranulph. 
The outer work completely environs the keep, and is 
of more modern date, being the erection of the lord 
Neville. " As a specimen of architecture," says 
Whitaker " Middleham castle is an unique, but not a 
happy work. The Norman keep, the fortress of the 
first lords, not being sufficient for the vast trains and 
princely habits of the Nevilles, was enclosed, at no long 
period before Leland's time, by a complete quadrangle, 
which almost entirely darkened what was dark enough 
before ; and the first structure now stands completely 
insulated in the centre of a later work, of no verv 



338 MIDDLEHAM CASTLE. 

ample dimensions within, and nearly as high as itself. 
I must, however, suppose, that the original keep was 
surrounded by a baily, occupying nearly the same 
space as the present quadrangular work. Within the 
original building are the remains of a magnificent hall 
and chapel ; but it might be difiicult to pronounce 
whether the first or second work consists of the more 
massive and indissoluble grout work." 

The grand entrance is through the north-east tower, 
the top of which has been machicolated for defence ; 
close to which is a room called " the king's chamber." 
The keep corresponds in shape with the walls of the 
outer building, and is of considerable height. The 
grand staircase, which led to the banquetting hall, 
yet remains, though many of the steps have been 
destroyed. '''''■ The arch over it, composed of very small 
stones, is a piece of curious workmanship. The pomp 
and splendour of the great hall have departed ; naked 
and desolate, the wind whistles a melancholy tune in 
the deserted chambers. The walls are of great thick- 
ness, and grouted with mortar as hard as stone itself. 
Numerous fire-places are to be seen in the apartments, 
with flues running up the thick walls. Fragments of 
the upper parts of walls and towers appear to hang in 
such an unsupported state, that it is surprising they do 

* Up this staircase, many years ago, an adventurous cow made her way, 
to her owner's great consternation. A council speedily assembled, and 
various expedients Avere proposed for deposing the animal from her singular 
elevation ; none apparently feasible, it was wisely resolved to leave her to 
herself; when, to the amusement of the bystanders, she effected her descent 
in safety. — Grose. 



MIDDLEHAM CASTLE. 331) 

not fall to the ground. The south-west tower has 
apparently been improved after the first building, the 
windows being larger, and the finishing more ornate 
than in many of the other parts. 

The best view of the ruins is on the south-west, the 
walls being there the most perfect, nearly of their 
original height, and occasionally ornamented with 
masses of ivy. 

The moat on this side can be traced, though parts 
of it are built over, and parts of it occupied as gardens ; 
when the soil in the latter was first opened, numerous 
horns of deer were found. 

On the south side of the castle is a remarkable echo ; 
the rephes, apparently from the interior, being clear 
and distinct, and the repetition of the notes of a French 
horn uncommonly fine. 

In the field to the south are two mounds, called 
*' William's Hills,"* evidently of artificial formation, 
and probably raised as an outwork for the defence of 
the castle, on this the most assailable side. During a 
rapid thaw, a few winters ago, water flowed in a 
torrent from these hills, and then suddenly shot into 
the ground and disappeared. On examining the place 
afterwards, part of an arched passage was found, appa- 

* " South of the castle is ' William's Hill,' Ghilpatric the Dane's fort ; 
round which, tradition fahles, whoever shall run nine times without stopping, 
will find a door open in the mound, which shall admit him to marvellous 
treasures. But this feat has never been attempted, simply because it is 
physically impossible ; to say nothing of the absurdity. The mound un- 
doubtedly contains a mine of treasure to the antiquary and archaeologist, if it 
were allowed to be opened." — The Three Days of Wensleydale. 



340 MIDDLEHAM CASTLE. 

rently leading from these hills, under the moat into 
the castle ; only a part could be explored, a fall of 
earth and stones having choked up the remainder. A 
tradition exists of a subterraneous passage from the 
castle to Jervaux abbey ; a thing, from the distance 
and nature of the ground, not very probable. No relics 
of armour, or weapons of any kind, have been found in 
excavations among the ruins. The remains of this once 
formidable fortress, are now carefully preserved from 
further dilapidation. 



341 



Bolton Castle, declared by Leiand to be the fairest 
castle in Richmondshire, stands on the slope of a bleak, 
barren hill, at a distance of four miles from Middleham. 
It was built by Richard, lord Scrope, High Chancellor 
of England ; who, in the third year of Richard 11.^ 
obtained the king's hcence to convert his manor house 
at Bolton into a castle. 

The Scropes, next to the Nevilles, were the most 
distinguished family in the north. In the space of 
three hundred years, between 1330 and 1630, the 
house of Scrope produced two earls, twenty barons, 
one lord chancellor, four treasurers, two chief justices, 
one archbishop, two bishops, five knights of the garter, 
and numerous bannerets. 

Richard, the first lord Scrope, was the second son 
and eventual heir of Henry le Scrope, of Bolton, chief 
justice of King's Bench. During the most brilliant 
period of our annals, from the battle of Cressy, for 
the next forty years, there was scarcely one battle of 
note in which lord Richard did not distinguish himself.* 
He survived his eldest son, the earl of Wiltshire, who 
was beheaded at Bristol in 1400, for fidelity to his 
fallen master, Richard 11. When the attainder of the 

* Longstaff's Richmond and Richmondshire, p. 31. 



842 BOLTON CASTLE. 

earl was confirmed bj parliament, his father, grey 
headed, and still commanding the respect of his sove- 
reign and peers, arose from his seat, his eyes streaming 
with tears, and implored that the proceedings might 
not affect the inheritance of himself, or his other 
children ; and was consoled by the king, who assured 
him, that their interests should never suffer for the 
sentence ; for he now, as always before, deemed him a 
loyal knight. He died in 1403, (before his son, the 
archbishop of York, was beheaded for treason,) full of 
honours, with a character untainted by the temptation 
of such offices as treasurer and chancellor. The 
intrepidity of this great man may be judged of, by the 
fact, that he was once deprived of the great seal, for 
refusing to affix it to an improvident grant of the weak 
Richard. Yet, his attachment to this unhappy king- 
was such, that he richly endowed a chantry in his 
castle of Bolton, in which divine service was said daily 
for the soul of king Richard. 

The ninth lord Scrope, of Bolton, was one of the 
heroes of Flodden Field, in 1513, and is commemorated 
in the old warlike ballad of that name. 

May 16th, 1568, Mary, queen of Scots, landed at 
Workington, in Cumberland ; and on the 18th was 
conducted to Carlisle castle, where she remained a 
short time, in the custody of Henry, eleventh lord 
Scrope of Bolton, warden of the Marches. Queen Eli- 
zabeth, fearing she might escape to Scotland, directed 
her removal to Bolton, where she arrived in July. In 
this castle she was imprisoned, under the joint care of 



BOLTON CASTLE. 843 

lord Scrope and Sir Francis Knollys, till the end of 
January, 1569. A tradition has existed in Wensley- 
dale, ever since the queen's day, that she escaped from 
the castle, and attempted to flee into Scotland ; but 
Was re-taken at a pass on Leyburn Shawl, while at- 
tempting to urge her horse through the narrow ravine ; 
hence to this day the pass is called ''The Queen's Gap." 
On the 26th of January, 1569, she was removed from 
Bolton, to Tutbury, in Staflbrdshire. It was while 
confined in Bolton castle, that the duke of Norfolk 
found access to Mary, and proposed the " fatal mar- 
riage," forerunner of his death. How dift'erent might 
have been the lot of this woman had she lived in 
happier times ! But — 

" Eest to thine ashes, thou beautiful one ! " 

In the great civil war of the seventeenth century, 
Bolton castle Avas a garrison for the king ; and was 
long and gallantly defended against the arms of the 
parliament, by a party of Richmondshire cavaliers, 
commanded by colonel Scrope, and afterwards by 
colonel Henry Chaytor, who held it until reduced to 
eat horseflesh ; when he capitulated, Nov. 5th, 1645, 
and the garrison marched to Pontefract. 

The committee at York ordered this fortress to be 
made untenable, in 1647. But it does not appear that 
the order was ever completely carried into effect ; yet 
from that period it has been neglected, and falHng into 
greater dilapidation. The north-eastern tower, which 
had been most damaged by the fire of the besiegers, 
fell suddenly to the ground in 1649. 



344 BOLTON CASTLE. 

The last of the family of Scrope who resided here, 
was Emanuel, thirteenth lord of that name, and earl 
of Sunderland, who died in 1.630 ; and, leaving no 
lawful issue, the honours of the family died with hira. 
Lord Bolton, the present owner of the castle, is des- 
cended in an indirect line from this earl. 

Leland says, Bolton castle was eighteen years in 
building ; and cost 18,000 marks, or £12,000., an 
enormous sum in those days ; so great, that we must 
suppose the old topographer has made a mistake. He 
also says, that the timber was fetched out of the forest 
of Engleby, in Cumberland, "by dyvers draughts of 
oxen layde by the way to carry it from place to place, 
until it came to Bolton." He further remarks : " One 
thinge I much notyd in the hauU of Bolton, how chim- 
neys were conveyed by tunnills made in the syds of 
the walls, betwixt the lights in the hauU. And by this 
means, and by no covers, is the smoke of the hearthe 
in the hauU wonder strangely conveyed. Ther is a fair 
clock at Bolton, ami motu solis et lunce, and other 
conclusions." 

The situation of the castle is truly cold and comfort- 
less ; and possessed of no advantages for defence, but 
rather the reverse ; the rising grounds on the north, 
since the invention of artillery, greatly favouring an 
assailing force ; though, before that period, from its 
lofty strong walls, and narrow, loop-hole hghts, it had 
not much to fear from an enemv. 

When complete, it has consisted of four lofty towers, 
(now only three remain,) with a curtain wall connecting 



BOLTON CASTLE. 845 

them. The form is quadrangular ; but on measuring 
it, no two sides are found equal ; the length of the 
south being 184 feet, the north 187 feet, the west 
131 feet, and the east 125. The same irregularity is 
preserved in the towers ; neither their faces nor flanks 
are equal. In the middle of the curtain wall between 
the angle towers, on the north and south sides, is a 
large projecting turret, also unequal sided. As these 
turrets stand at right angles to the building, neither 
north nor south curtains are one continued right line. 
The grand entrance is in the east curtain, near the 
south tower, and has been defended by a portcullis ; 
there have been three other small doors besides, one 
on the north, and two on the west side. In the centre 
is an open court, giving light and air to the interior 
apartments. The rooms are small, and very numerous: 
in one is a well of excellent water ; another is called 
the dungeon, a term which might be properly applied 
to a great many of them. The great hall has occupied 
the upper story on the south side, and has been hghted 
by tall narrow windows ; yet wide, compared with the 
loop-holes, which have been intended to give light to 
the other apartments. A corresponding room on the 
north side is called the chapel ; it was the chantry en- 
dowed by the founder, for six priests to say mass daily 
for the soul of king Richard II. 

Four or five families now reside in the different 
parts of the castle. The south-west tower is that 
ascended by visitors, and is occupied from " turret to 
basement." Close to this tower, is the room in which 



346 BOLTON CASTLE. 

tradition says " the beauteous hapless Mary " of Scot- 
land was confined. It has two narrow windows '"' 
through the thick wall ; one to the east, looking into 
the court ; the other to the west, overlooking the open 
country. It was through this last that she made her 
escape, being lowered from it by an attendant, to the 
ground beneath. The room has a low fire-place ; the 
floor is of mortar, now partly broken up ; and the 
whole apartment gives us a very low idea of the com- 
forts of the ancient nobility. 

The stone staircase, leading to the top of the tower, 
is in good condition ; the rooms clean and orderly, but 
sadly deficient in light. The view from the top is one 
of uncommon beauty. At each corner of the tower, 
there has been a watch turret, the steps leading up to 
them yet remaining. The chimneys not in use are 
covered over, to keep out the jackdaws, who have a 
great partiality for the old building. On the north 
side, we look down upon queen Mary's room, which 
yet retains its original roof ; the lead being scratched 
and scrawled all over with the names of visitors, who 
have thus sought to gratify their love of fame. Look- 
ing over into the country on this side, we only see the 
bleak, bare hill, which divides Wensleydale from Swale- 
dale. To the west, we look down upon the village of 
Carperby ; beyond which, is Aysgarth, with the tower 
of its fine church rising above " the copsewood green." 

* A pane of glass, in one of these windows, is said to have had the name 
of Mary queen of Scots written npon it with a diamond ring by herself. It 
was long preserved with care ; but having been removed to Bolton Hall, was 
accidentally broken. 



BOLTON CASTLE. 347 

In the back ground, the giant bulk of Addleborough 
forms a very conspicuous object. To the south-west, 
we see the openings of the valleys of Bishopdale and 
Walden, with the villages of West Burton and 
Thoresby. The huge mass of Penhill rises to the 
south, with the town of West Witton at its foot. To 
the east, are the villages of E-edmire and Preston XJn- 
derscar, the glorious woods around Bolton Hall, and 
the pleasant village of Wensley. The valley below 
appears in all its beauty, smiling in sunshine, with the 
"yellow-sanded Yore^' winding along through rich 
fields and noble woods. The whole forming a land- 
scape of the most varied and enchanting kind. 



348 



^xrl^mnniJ €mtlt 



Proudly pre-eminent among its kindred structures, 
in massive Norman architecture, stands Richmond 
castle ; the most interesting object in a most interest- 
ing town. Though more than eight centuries and a 
half have elapsed since its foundations were laid, parts 
of it appear calculated to endure for an equal time to 
come. Though of great note, both from its peculiar 
strength, and the high rank of its princely owners, it 
does not occupy a prominent place in history. 

Before the JSTorman conquest, a large district in the 
North Riding of Yorkshire, since known under the 
name of Richmondshire, was the property of the beau- 
tiful Edwin, one of the great Saxon nobility. After 
the conquest, this valuable estate was bestowed by the 
conqueror upon Alan Rufus his nephew, one of the 
sons of Eudo, earl of Bretagne ; who had accompanied 
his uncle in the invasion of England, and commanded 
the rear-guard at the battle of Hastings. The charter 
for dispossessing earl Edwin of his Yorkshire estates, 
and conferring them on Alan, was granted by William 
at the siege of York, A. D. 1069, and is one of the 
briefest of legal documents. 

" I, William, surnamed the Bastard, do give and 
grant to thee Alan, my nephew, earl of Bretagne, and 



RICHMOND CASTLE. 349 

to thy heirs for ever, all the towns and lands which 
lately belonged to earl Edwyn in Yorkshire ; with 
the knight's fees, churches, and other privileges and 
customs, in as free and honourable a manner as the 
said Edwyn held them. 

" Given from the siege before York.'' 

This .gift consisted of 140 knight's fees, each con- 
taining twelve plough lands, or 640 acres ; and Rich- 
mondshire, the seat of these possessions, contained 104 
parishes. Yet this was not the whole of the con- 
queror's gift to his nephew ; for Alan's estate, in the 
whole, consisted of 440 manors. A noble patrimony! 
implying extraordinary merit or service in the fortu- 
nate receiver. 

In fixing upon a site for his castle, which was to serve 
as a place of residence, and a fortress of defence, Alan 
selected one of the strongest points in his dominions, 
and laid the foundations on an almost perpendicular 
rock, on the left bank of the Swale ; and the selection 
of the spot showed the judgment of the founder. It 
was in a central situation, on the confines of the low 
country and the mountains, on a site almost impreg- 
nable, on which was practised all the skill of Norman 
fortification ; and of such an extent, as would aJBford 
accommodation, as well as protection, to the faithful 
vassals of the earl ; who, by any sudden insurrection, 
might be driven to seek refuge within its walls. Such 
was the felicity, says Dr. Whitaker, with which the 
site was chosen for the capital and fortress of the 
province, that if a disturbance should happen in the 



350 RICHMOND CASTLE. 

low country, within half an hour, a body of horse 
would be on the plain, ready to chase the insurgents. 
Or if, as was more probable, the ruder and more hardy 
natives of the valleys, trusting to the fastnesses of 
their neighbouring mountains, presumed to rebel ; an 
active and disciplined body of infantry would have no 
time to waste in traversing plains, while their enemies 
above were gathering strength and courage from 
delay. 

The buildings were probably begun about 1087 ; '"' 
but only a very small part, if indeed any that we now 
see, was the work of the founder. To increase its 
security, his successors, Alan the younger, and Stephen 
Fergaunt, encompassed it with a strong wall, eight 
hundred yards in length, embattled, and flanked with 
lofty towers. To the south, the west, and east, the 
fortress was rendered impregnable by the combined 
operations of nature and art. And on the north, which 
was the weakest side, Conan, the fourth earl of Rich- 
mond, built the great square tower or keep, in 1 146 ; 
the walls of which, from their extraordinary thickness, 
have braved the dilapidating eff'ects of time, and retain 
at this day, their original dimensions and stability. 
From this tower, which is ninety-nine feet high, with 
walls eleven feet thick, the defenders of the castle had 
a commanding view of the surrounding country ; and, 
in case of attack, all the movements of their enemies 
would be as visible to them, as if they had been made 
in the court yard of the fortress. To strengthen this 

* Gale says in 1071. 



RICHMOND CASTLE. 351 

entrance, an outwork, called the barbacan, was erected, 
which defended the gate and the drawbridge. 

In the year 1174, William, king of Scotland, sur- 
named the Lion, invaded England ; but was surprised 
and captured, near Alnwick, by Ralph de Glanville, 
and the Anglo-Norman chiefs ; carried prisoner to 
Richmond castle, and there confined in a narrow 
dungeon. 

Notwithstanding its strength and consequence, this 
castle has never been beseiged ; nor has war, in any 
manner, contributed to its ruin. 

The earldom of Richmond, of which this castle was 
the capital, has frequently changed hands. The large 
extent and wealth of its territory, made the early 
sovereigns of England glad to seize every pretext for 
taking it to themselves ; and when they possessed it, 
they were often induced by policy to present it to such 
of their adherents as were most serviceable to them. 
Until the death of Conan, the fourth earl, it was pos- 
sessed by the earls of Bretagne, in France. It was 
seized by Richard I., on a very slender pretence, and 
retained by him for some years. His successor, king- 
John, continued also in possession of it ; but ultimately 
gave it to Peter de Dreux, who became earl of Rich- 
mond in 1216. From this family it was transferred, 
in 1241, to Peter of Savoy, uncle to the queen of 
Henry III, but not for any considerable period ; for 
the interests of Henry induced him to contrive that 
it should pass into the hands of the dukes of Bretagne, 
whose ancestors had formerly possessed it. 



352 RICHMOND CASTLE. 

John, earl of Richmond, was taken prisoner at the 
battle of Bannockburn, July 25th, 1314 ; and the 
queen of France, and the bishop of Glasgow, were 
given up as his ransom. " Whatever their rank might 
be, a woman and an ecclesiastic were no adequate 
compensation for an active and warlike earl." 

In 1343, Edward III. seized the earldom, and con- 
ferred it upon his son John of Gaunt, who was then 
but three years old. The honour of Richmond was 
finally severed from the house of Bretagne, in the 
reign of Richard II. It was held without the earldom 
by Ralph Neville, the great earl of Westmorland, for 
life. Edmund Tudor was created earl, in 1453 ; and 
in 1489, when Henry, son of Edmund, earl of Rich- 
mond, became king of England, under the title of 
Henry VII., the earldom finally settled in the crown. 

In 1525, Henry Fitzroy, a natural son of Henr}^ 
VIII., was created duke of Richmond. He died with- 
out issue. In 1613, Lodowic Stewart, duke of Lennox, 
was created earl ; and, in 1 623, duke of Richmond. 
In 1672, the title expired in the person of Charles, 
earl of Lichfield, to whom it had descended. In 1674, 
Charles II. created his natural son, Charles Lennox, 
duke of Richmond ; from whom the present ducal 
family is descended. No estates were granted with 
the title, except a few acres of land encircled by the 
walls and moat of the castle of Richmond. 

In every point of view the castle is a magnificent 
object ; and in ancient times, on its almost perpen- 
dicular rock, must have been considered next to 



RICHMOND CASTLE. 353 

impregnable. Its imposing dimensions, the freshness of 
its masonry, the pertinacious dislike to vegetation on its 
exterior, strike the eye as it gazes on the towering 
stronghold ; and are evidences of an almost indestruc- 
tible durability. The hand of time is certain in its 
effects on all around ; the ivy clings to the mouldering 
walls, and clothes them with a beauty which the keep 
despises, — proud in its sternness, reluctant to boast of 
prettinesses."' 

The view of the town and castle from the railway 
station in the valley below, is grand and imposing ; the 
town rising up the slope and crowning the crest of the 
hill ; the castle, — like some veteran grey, in arms, — 
keeping watch on the steep promontory, above the 
river on the south. 

The great keep is the most majestic tower in York- 
shire, presenting on the outside no traces of ruin or 
decay. It is ninety-nine feet in height, and the walls 
are eleven feet thick. Flat buttresses, in the Norman 
style, flank the sides, and are continued at the angles 
in the form of square turrets. The entrance into the 
castle yard is at the foot of the noble keep ; and turn- 
ing to the right, we . are soon on the ground-floor of 
that majestic tower. In the centre is an octagonal 
pillar, from which spring the circular arches of the 
groined roof. At the foot of this pillar is a w^ell of 
water, which has evidently been formed when the 
tower was built, a cavity having been left in the column 
for its reception. The floor is of the natural rock, 

* Loxgstaffk's EiclimondiBhire. 
2 A 



354 RICHMOND CASTLE. 

appearing like large, rough, irregular flags. No light 
has been admitted into this apartment, but what 
entered by the spacious doorway. During the night 
it has been lighted by lamps, suspended from the 
arches above ; the rings for that purpose yet remain- 
ing. On the left of the entrance, a staircase, project- 
ing into the room, leads to the second story ; in which 
the central pillar is a cylinder. All the floors above 
this are broken down, of which there appears to have 
been three. 

In the thickness of the walls are many small rooms 
and passages, lighted by narrow loop-holes. Partly by 
means of the original staircase, partly by means of 
wooden ladders, the summit of the tower is reached ; 
then, what a splendid prospect meets the eye ! To 
describe it is impossible ; it seems to include half a 
kingdom ; extending from the mouth of the Tees, to 
the minster of York, in one vast sweep, eastward; 
while, to the west, hills peep over hills in grand confu- 
sion. The view must be seen, to be properly appre- 
ciated, and once seen, will not readily be forgotten. 

Leaving this mighty tower, *^ silent in its strength," 
we turn to the left, and next stop at " Robin Hood's 
tower,'' a dwarf indeed, compared to the giant we have 
lately left. How it obtained the name of England's 
most famous outlaw, we know not ; but it is said, on 
good authority, to have been the station of the lords of 
Middleham, subfeudatories of the earls of Richmond. 
The ground-floor forms a vaulted chapel, of small 
dimensions, exhibiting many of the peculiarities of 



RICHMOND CASTLE. 355 

Norman carchitecture. It is arcaded round, and the 
east window is a long loop-hole, the sill of which has 
formed the altar. 

The next tower is called "the gold hole," from a tra- 
dition of treasure having been found in it. Report 
says, that there is, or rather was, a subterraneous 
passage, leading under the bed of the river, from this 
tower to the priory of St. Martin, on the opposite 
bank. 

We next reach the hall of ScoUand, which was the 
station of the lords of Bedale, who performed miKtary 
service in the castle of their superior lord. This has 
been the great banquetting hall, the windows being 
larger than in any other part of the castle. The 
carved cornices and brackets, with the chimneys car- 
ried up in the thickness of the walls, seem to point out 
this portion of the fortress as the residence of its 
princely owners. On the outside of this building? 
towards the west, are some pieces of herring-bone 
masonry. In the basement of the corner tower is a 
room, without either door, window, or loop-hole, and 
which is generally said to have been a dungeon ; with 
some probability, as it is adapted for no other purpose. 
How the victims who were so unfortunate as to be cast 
into this den could ever escape, is not so easy of 
explanation. From a window at this corner of the 
castle, is a most exquisite view of the river and valley 
below ; a panorama of natural beauty. The south side 
of the castle, which overhangs the Swale, might be 
considered as impregnable in any age. The area 



356 RICHMOND CASTLE. 

inclosed within the walls of the castle includes about 
five acres of ground, and is of a triangular form. The 
walls do not appear to have been thrown down by 
violence, but to have crumbled into ruin through time 
and neglect. 

When complete, with the banner of the princely 
earl and his lordly retainers proudly floating from its 
walls, it would present a grand and imposing spectacle; 
now, it is only the most interesting feature in a most 
interesting landscape. The abode of princes, the 
battlements that once defended a province, now only 
offer a subject of study to the delighted antiquary, 
employment for the enthusiastic artist, or philosophic 
lessons to the contemplative moralist. 



357 



6xtg f\xmxB Cnkrer. 

On the right of the northern entrance into the town 
of Richmond, stands the soKtary tower of the church 
of the establishment of the Franciscan or Grey Friars. 
It is said to have been founded by Ralph Fitz Randal, 
lord of Middleham, in 1258, and where, on his death, 
in 1 270, his heart was buried. Many members of the 
families of Scrope, Plessy, and Frank, were also buried 
here. 

These houses, with the exception of their sites and 
precincts, were unendowed, and disqualified, b}^ the 
rule of their order, from taking any donations in land. 
Hence there was no real estate belonging to this hou^e, 
except its site and the Friars' close, containing about 
eighteen acres, and even these were given to the town 
in trust for their use. Legacies, however, in money, 
they might and did receive ; besides which the reputa- 
tion of their poverty and merits, and perhaps their 
importunity, supplied them with sufficient for their 
daily use. 

^ To this house, in 1423, Robert Wyclyf, master of 
Kepyer Hospital, near Durham, and rector of Hutton 
Rudby, gave, by his will, twenty shillings. Ralph Fitz 
Randolph, knight, in 1457, bequeathed seven marks to 
the friars of Richmond, to celebrate mass during one 



358 GREY friars' tower. 

year for his own soul, and for the souls of all 
the faithful departed. In 1470, Robert Dale, alias 
Flesher, of Great Fencote, leaves five shillings to 
these friars. 

This establishment continued in a flourishing state 
till the dissolution in 1539, when it was surrendered 
by Robert Sanderson, the master or warden, and 
fourteen brethren. The inmates of this house were 
treated with great severity by Henry VIII. " All the 
difficult,'^ says Bishop ]3urnet, "that I find made 
against owning of the king's supremacy, was at Rich- 
mond, by the Franciscan friars." They said that it 
concerned their consciences, " that they had sworn to 
follow the rule of St. Francis, and in it they would 
live and die." They cited a chapter of their rule, — 
"that their order should have a cardinal for their 
protector, by whose directions they might be governed 
in their obedience to the Holy See." Many of the 
Franciscans suffered death in the cause, and others 
ended their days miserably in gaol. 

The site of the monastery is now the property of 
John James Robinson, Esq., to whose family it has 
belonged since the year 1713. 

The magnificent central tower, all that remains of 
the buildings, is lofty, well proportioned, and of the 
lightest and richest style of late Gothic architecture ; 
rising from four of the most beautiful arches in 
the north. The buttresses are corbelled out in a 
singular manner. The east end of the south aisle 
alone remains. 



GREY friars' TOWER. 359 

Tradition states that the present remains are part of 
a building which was never finished ; and from their 
appearance, it is more probable that this tower is the 
beginning of a new church, than the remnant of an old 
one. Next to the keep of the castle, it is one of the 
most interesting remains of antiquity, and one of the 
greatest ornaments of the town of Richmond. 



360 



€mhn |ibkp. 



The ruins of this monastery are situate in a pleasant 
spot, about a mile below Richmond, almost close to the 
northern bank of the river Swale, surrounded by hills 
partly clothed with wood ; the whole forming a scene 
of calm seclusion and beauty. 

This house was founded by Roald, or Roaldus, con- 
stable of Richmond castle, son of Emsart Wesard, the 
first grantee of the estates belonging to Tor, under the 
earl of Richmond, about the year 1152. He gave to 
it such of the enclosed lands and open pastures in 
Hudswell, as he had not previously bestowed on the 
priory of St. Martin ; with two carucates and three 
bovates of land in Easby, and certain estates at Wait- 
wath. Roger de Mowbray was also a benefactor to 
this house ; and all the grants made to it were con- 
firmed by king Edward III. This abbey had also 
belonging to it the rectories of Easby, Stanwix, and 
Manfield. 

The monks of this estabhshment were regular canons 
of the Premonstratensian order ; commonly called 
*' white canons,'^ from the colour of their habit. 

In the reign of Edward III, Thomas de Burton, 
then representative of the family of Roald, sold the fee 
of Tor to Henry le Scrope, lord of Bolton ; and, from 



EASBY ABBEY. 361 

that period to the dissolution, the Scropes were 
respected as the founders of the monastery. 

Richard, son of Henry le Scrope, high chancellor to 
Eichard II. , assigned to the canons the manor of 
Brompton ; and in the sixteenth of the same king's 
reign, received the royal licence to bestow on this 
house an annual rent of £150. ; for the maintenance 
of ten additional canons and two secular ones, to cele- 
brate divine service for the prosperity of king Eichard 
and his heirs during their lives, and for their souls 
after their decease ; for his own soul, those of his pre- 
decessors, and all the departed ; and for the support of 
twenty poor men in the abbey for ever. His body was 
laid in the church of this abbey, where the remains of 
many of this noble family were deposited for many 
generations. 

On the iT'th of May, 1424, a commission was 
directed to Nicholas, bishop of Dromore, suffragan of 
the archbishop of York, to dedicate the conventual 
church of St. Agatha, juMa Eichmond, and the area 
of the churchyard. 

In 1534, John, lord Scrope, was received as the very 
true and undoubted founder, by the monastery, with 
procession, and all such solemnity and ceremonies as 
appertained thereto, according as his noble ancestors 
had been before him ; and his heirs /or ever were to be 
partakers of all the prayers and suffrages of the 
brethren, and all other customs, duties, pleasures, and 
commodities belonging to the just title and right of a 
founder. 



862 EASBY ABBEY. 

When Henry VIIL, in the 26th of his reign, had 
determined to suppress all religions houses whose 
revenues were, in clear yearly value, less than £200., 
commissioners were appointed to enquire into the 
revenues of the abbey of St. Agatha. They declared 
that the annual income of the house amounted to 
£188. 16s. 2d. ; but that the revenue was liable 
to great deductions,* which reduced the sum to 
£111. 17s. lOd. The abbey was thereupon suppressed, 
and the monks dispersed into other houses. Robert 
Bampton, who was elected in 1511, was the last abbot, 
and, along with seventeen canons, surrendered the 
abbey in 1535. The site, with the possessions of the 
monastery, were soon after leased for thirty years to 
John, lord Scrope, reserving to the king advowsons, 
and great fees and woods, at the annual rent of 
£283. 13s. Id. ; nearly double the amount at which 
the commissioners had valued the property. 

In 1557, it was sold by Philip and Mary to Ralph 

* Tlie following are a few of the deductions. They were bound by various 
grants to distribute once a week to five poor and indigent persons, for the 
soul of John Eomaine, archdeacon of Richmond, as much meat and drink as 
came to 55s. lid. a year ; and a like alms of the value of 15s. a year, to one 
poor person, every day, for the soul of the aforesaid John ; to give to ten poor 
persons on the day of his obit, one meal of the value of ten pence ; and to 
divers chaplains on the day^of his obit, 10s. They were also bound to spend 
26s. 8d. in giving one loaf of bread, called Paysloffe, or loaf of peace, one 
flaggon of ale, and one mess of food, to one pauper every day, from the feast 
of All Souls to the feast of the Grcumcision. To give the value of £4. in 
corn, and red and white salted fish, to every poor and indigent person, on the 
day of St. Agatha, from an ancient custom of religion ; and to give and 
distribute to the poor a similar alms, according to an old custom and precept 
of religion, at the Supper of the Lord, and two following days. 



EASBY ABBEY. 363 

Gower, of Richmond, for £660. 3s. 4d. ; the tenure in 
chief for knight's service. He dying, bequeathed the 
same to his son John ; who being attained of high 
treason, all his estates were confiscated to the crown. 
In the reign of Elizabeth and James I., it was again in 
possession of the Scro.pes, of Bolton, and was subse- 
quently purchased by Robert Jaques, Esq., for £45,000. 
The remains of this abbey cover a large space of 
ground, and, combined with the beauty of the surround- 
ing scenery, form a very interesting picture. The first 
group of buildings approached by the visitor from 
Richmond, are evidently the oldest part of the struc- 
ture, and may be referred to the first foundation of 
Roald ; but having been placed on the shelving bank 
of the Swale, has long been gradually detaching itself 
from the adjoining parts, and threatens, at no distant 
period, to fall. Passing near the kitchen, easily dis- 
tinguished by its large fire-place and chimney, we 
reach the refectory, a noble room, standing near the 
parish church."""' The great window at the east end, in 
the decorated style, is highly beautiful, and much of 
its elegant tracery remains. In the south wall of this 
apartment, there are six other windows, in the same 
style. The second window^ — from the projection of 

* " The little church of Easby is a gem of rusticity. It realizes all our 
ideas of model village temples, shown us in pretty story books. Ivy floats 
around the chancel, to the grief of the antiquarians, and a large trunk comes 
bursting out of its north side, we know not from what hidden birth-place. A 
scrap of Saxon, or early Norman sculpture, peeps from above the western 
lights, in the form of a knot, more elaborate than that of a true lover, and 
makes all the people admire. Dim shields of Scrope, Aske, and Conyers, 



364 EASBY ABBEY. 

the wall beneath it into the room, — is supposed to have 
been used as a reading gallery. This apartment is 
102 feet in length, by twenty-seven in breadth ; the 
floor has been supported on groined arches, resting in 
the centre of the basement story, on a row of seven 
pillars. The lower room has been divided into cells 
or offices, traces of which remain on the walls. 

On the north side of the refectory, is a large room, 
supposed to have been the chapter-house, roofed with 
pointed arches. The cloister-court, of which one side 
was formed by the northern wall of the refectory, was 
entered at the west end by a curious doorway, which 
displays the fanta^ic taste of Norman enrichments in 
perfection. 

The site of the abbey church can yet be traced. 
The elegant remains of the clustered columns, which 
supported the entrances to the north and south tran- 
septs, are still visible. Three windows remain on the 
east side of the south transept, and three at the 
northern end of the north transept. 

The abbot's lodgings, instead of occupying their 
usual situation to the south-east of the choir, and been 
connected with the east side of the cloister-court, are 
here placed most injudiciously, says Dr. Whitaker, to 

surround the porcli entrance ; and this, forsooth, is the only memorial of the 
Scropes at their pet resting spot. A melancholy broken statue of St. Agatha 
graces the wall near the chancel door, the iron work of which will repa}^ 
attention, the elegant turn of a leaf to form a handle being remarkably clever. 
The architecture was originally plain transition Norman, and the east window 
gives a very early example of tracery, consisting of three lancet lights, under 
one round arch, the eyes open.'" — Long.staffe's Richmondshirc. 



EASBY ABBEY. 365 

the north of the church, and therefore deprived, by 
the great elevation of the latter, of warmth and sun- 
shine. The abbot's private entrance into the church 
was by a doorway, yet remaining, into the north aisle 
of the nave. To compensate, however, for the dark- 
ness of his lodgings, he had a pleasant gardqn open to 
the morning sun, with a beautiful solarium, highly 
adorned with gothic groining, of which some fragments 
were remaining a few years ago ; but time and neglect 
have produced their usual fruits, and the whole has 
now fallen to ruin. 

At the dissolution, the lattice work from the 
chantry of the Scropes was removed to Wensley 
church, where much of it yet remains. The stalls of 
the canons were removed to the parish church of 
Richmond, and are now set apart for the use of the 
corporation. The gateway of the abbey, a square 
building, under which the road formerly passed, is in 
good repair ; a large room in the upper story is used 
as a granary. The mill-race runs underneath part of 
the ruins, and passing the old and perfect granary 
of the abbey, flows into the Swale. Midway between 
the gateway and the village of Easby, near the centre 
of the road, is a remarkable echo given by the ruins. 
On the green, not far from the gateway, is a venerable 
and picturesque elm, known as " the abbot's elm," nor 
is it improbable from its antique appearance, that some 
of the venerable superiors of the monastery may have 
said their evening office under its shade. 



366 



§lateitsfo0rllj Castle. 

At a distance of five miles north-west of Richmond 
are the remains of Ravensworth castle, once the home 
of the chivalric family of Fitz Hugh, subfeudatories of 
the earls of Richmond. 

Of the builder of this castle, or the time of its erec- 
tion, we have no account ; but it is said to have existed 
before the Conquest. However that may be, at that 
period it belonged to a baron, named Bardolph, who, 
in his old age, became a monk of St. Mary's abbey, 
near York. Camden says, " it belonged to the barons 
called Fitzhugh, (descended from those Saxons who 
were lords of the place before the Conquest,) who 
flourished till the time of Henry VH." The Fitzhughs 
might be styled the founders of Jervaux abbey, and 
many of that illustrious line were buried there ; among 
which was the founder, Akar, who died in 1161, and 
his son, Harveus Fitz Akary, in 1182 ; Henry Fitz 
Randolph, who died in 1260 ; and his daughter-in-law, 
Albreda, wife of Hugh Fitz Henry, lord of Ravens- 
worth, who was buried Feb. 22nd, 1302. Hugh Fitz 
Henry died in 1304. His tomb, bearing the cross- 
legged effigy of a knight crusader, may yet be seen in 
the north transept of Romaldkirk church. 



RAVENSWORTH CASTLE. 367 

Henry Fitz Henry, grandson of Hugh and Albreda, 
died in his father's lifetime, 1352, and was buried at 
the foot of the high altar at Jervaux. The second son, 
and eventual heir, Henry, who married Joan, daughter 
of Henry, lord Scrope, of Masham, was also buried 
before the altar, at Jervaux. Henry, lord Fitzhugh^ 
K.G., his son and successor, aged twenty-three years at 
his father's death, attended Henry V. in his wars in 
France, with sixty-six men at arms, and 209 archers ; 
he is described as a brave and noble knight, the beau 
ideal of chivalry. He visited Jerusalem on pilgrimage, 
and also Cairo ; and fought against the Saracens and 
Turks. He married Elizabeth Gray, heiress of the 
Marmions of Tanfield ; and dying at Eavensworth, 
Jan. 11th, 1424, was interred with his ancestors at 
Jervaux. A mutilated effigy of this illustrious warrior 
is yet to be seen, at the eastern extremity of the centre 
aisle of the ruins of that abbey. His lady died in 
1427, and was buried there also. In her will she 
desired her body to be carried, in all goodly haste after 
her death, to be buried before the high altar, near her 
departed lord ; when at the exeques and mass the next 
day, twenty-four torches were to burn round the 
hearse, and fifteen tapers, each a pound in weight, 
before the high altar. She left to her son, Eobert, who 
was destined to the bishopric of London, a psalter, 
covered with red velvet, and a ring, with a relic of St. 
Peter's finger. She wished one thousand masses to be 
performed for her within three months. And after 
giving her executors directions to pay her debts the 



368 RAVENSWORTH CASTLE. 

first thing, and disposing of the remainder towards 
marrying her children, she entreats them to " do for 
her soul as they would answer to God." 

In Leland's time, this castle belonged to Lord Parr ; 
he says, — " The castle, excepting two or three towers, 
and a faire stable, with a conduct coming to the hull 
side, had no thing memorable." 

This castle was held by the crown from 1571 to 
1629 ; when by letters patent it was granted to 
Edward Dichfield, and other trustees. In 1677, it was 
in possession of Sir Thomas Wharton ; by whose 
daughter it passed to Robert Byerley, Esq. It was 
afterwards in possession of Humphrey Fletcher, Esq. 
After his death it was sold to Mr. Lax, and is now in 
the possession of Mr. Page. 

The ruins of this castle stand in a low, marshy 
situation, with no advantages of defence, except what 
might be derived from the depth and fulness of its 
moat ; which, indeed, appears from its remains to have 
been of considerable dimensions, and from its situation 
would always be well supplied with water, as the land 
rises from it nearly on all sides. The whole area may 
have occupied rather more than two acres ; and the 
few fragments that remain are in a dilapidated and 
neglected state. A square tower, at the north-west 
corner, is the chief portion now standing. It is about 
seventeen feet square within, and three stories in 
height ; the rooms have been low, each occupying the 
whole breadth of the tower, and each has been fur- 
nished with a fire-place, and lighted by two windows, 



RAVENSWORTH CASTLE, 369 

about nine inches wide, bj three feet six inches in 
height. The walls are five feet thick, and of good 
ashler work. A winding stone staircase has ascended 
at the north-east corner to the second story, and then 
passed, by a flight of steps in the thickness of the wall, 
to the opposite corner ; and there another winding 
stair has conducted to the top. Close to this tower 
has been the main entrance ; the gateway yet remain- 
ing, about twelve feet wide, and high enough to admit 
a man on horseback. It has been defended by a port- 
cullis, the groove of which yet remains. In the centre 
of the area is a small square tower, not more than 
nine feet by five inside. A small room on the top has 
been very carefully finished ; three of its sides have 
each a window of two trefoil-headed lights, with a 
quatrefoil in the arch above. The tracery of two of 
them yet remains. Around the outside wall is an in- 
scription, in bold, black letter, which reads as follows — 

^'t. yu*L iVt. ^iit tmxL & mip, nl^\i\ & m. 

Christus dominus, Ihesus, via, fons et origo, alpha el 
omega. 

There are other three fragments of ruin remaining, 
one near the last mentioned tower, somewhat like a 
broken down barn, in shape ; another at the north-east 
corner, covered with ivy, with a small window looking 
out from a deep recess ; the other is at the north- 
western corner, and consists of a piece of blank wall, 
about sixteen yards in length, and about twenty feet 
2b 



370 RAVENSWORTH CASTLE. 

high. This probably formed part of the "faire stable '' 
that Leland saw. No part of the remaining fragments 
appear to indicate an Anglo-Norman origin. The 
south front has been semicircular. The whole area is 
full of ridges and hillocks, indicating the remains of 
foundations ; and the place where the warlike knight 
and his retainers dwelt, is now devoted to the pastur- 
age of cattle. 



371 



^00[cst0n %hhti2^ 



Though comparatively remote from the great routes 
of traffic, few of the Yorkshire abbeys are better 
known by name than that of Eggleston. Touched by 
the wizard pencil of Sir Walter Scott, the district 
around has become classic ground ; and, independent 
of its associations with the lays of Scotland's mightiest 
minstrel, it is well worth a visit, from its own intrinsic 
beauties. In this abbey, is laid one of the most stirring 
scenes in " Rokeby ; " the grand climax of interest 
reserved for the last canto is developed here. 

" The reverend pile lay wild and waste, 
Profan'd, distonour'd, and defac'd. 
Through storied lattices no more 
In soften' d light the sunbeams pour, 
Gilding the Gothic sculpture rich, 
Of shrine, and monument, and niche. 
The cruel fury of the time 
Made sport of sacrilegious crime ; 
And dark 'Fanaticism rent 
Altar, and screen, and ornament, 
And peasant hands the tombs o'erthrew, 
Of Bowes, of Rokeby, and Fitzhugh," 

Here died the gentle Wilfrid of the poet's song ; 
(look not for his tomb — he is a thing of immortalityj 
and cannot be buried ;) here the arts of the wily 
Oswald Wycliife " burst upon their artist's head ; '^ and 



'?>72 EGGLESTON ABBEY. 

here the wild buccaneer, Bertram Eisingham, (not all 
a villain,) expiated his treachery to his leader by killing 
his enemy, and escaped further crime by being killed 
himself. 

" Fell as he was, in act and mind, 
He left no bolder lieart behind ; 
Then give him for a soldier meet, 
A soldier's cloak for winding sheet." 

These are but creatures of the imagination, — nothing 
more ; but they are creatures of the imagination of 
Scott, and this is the place where he made them per- 
form their parts, and where you may see them also, in 
the same manner as he did ; the scenes are around 
you, the actors are only wanting. 

This abbey was founded, according to Bishop Tanner, 
by Ralph de Multon, in the latter end of the reign of 
king Henry II., or in the beginning of that of Richard I. ; 
but according to another account, it was founded by 
Conan, earl of Richmond, who died A.D. 1171. 

The churches of Rokeby and Great Ouseburn were 
appropriated to this house by archbishop Zouch. It 
had also the church of Startforth, given by Helen de 
Hastings. 

The religious settled here were Premonstratenses, or 
white canons. This order was first brought into 
England about the year 1140; and their first estab- 
lishment was at Newhouse, in Lincolnshire. These 
canons followed the rule of St. Augustine, as reformed 
by St. Norbert, about the year 1120; and they derived 
their name from Premonstre, in Picardy, the abbot of 
which was head of the order. 



EGGLESTON ABBEY. 373 

The followers of this order were at first so poor, that 
thej had nothing they could call their own but a single 
ass ; which served to cany the wood they cut down 
every morning and sent to Laon, in order to purchase 
bread. The order, however, increased so much, that 
they had in Christendom 1000 abbeys, 300 provost- 
ships, a great number of priories, and 300 nunneries. 
The object of the order was to ensure a pure contem- 
plative life. Their habit was a white cassock, a rochet, 
and over it a long white cloak, and white cap. 
From this dress the monks were often called " white 
canons.'' 

Leland, in his Itinerary, calls this abbey a prior >', 
and gives the following description of it : '' The priory 
of Eggieston joineth hard to Thulesgylle bek, and 
hangeth over the high banke of Tese. I saw, in the 
body of the church, two very faire tumbs of grey 
marble. In the greater was buried, as I learned, one 
Sir Ralph Bowes ; an yn the lesser, one of the Rokes- 
bys. Hard under the clifFe by Eglestone is found, on 
eche side of Tese, very fair marble, wont to be taken 
up both by marbelers of Barnardes castle and of Egle- 
ston ; and partly wrought by them, and partly sold 
unwrought to others." 

Thomas Darneton, who had been elected A.D. 1519, 
was the last abbot. Lord Dacre, who married the 
heiress of Thomas de Multon, was the patron at the 
period of the dissolution. The gross annual value 
of the revenues, in the 26th of Henry VIIL, vv^as 
£65. 5s. 6d., and the net £36. 7s. 2d. 



874 EGGLESTON ABBEY. 

The site of the abbey was granted, 2nd of Edward 
VI., to Robert Shelly a Shelly ; it is now the property 
of W. B. S. Morritt, Esq., of Rokeby Park. 

The ruins of this abbey stand on a beautiful swell of 
land almost close to the river Tees, near the junction 
of the romantic Thorsgill with the master stream. The 
situation is one of romantic and pictorial beauty ; on 
one side the Tees pours its rapid stream, at the bottom 
of a deep rocky dell, worn by the fury of the current ; 
the banks are finely overhung with wood, and the river 
flows with an everlasting murmur, along ^ 

"That mighty trench of living stone. 
Condemned to mine a channell'd way 
O'er solid streets of marble grey." 

On another side is the beautiful Thorsgill, so named 
from the northern god of war ; a finely wooded glen, 
with a slender stream flowing at the bottom, — 

" The faiiy Thorsgill's murmuring child." 

This narrow valley was a choice place for Scott ; and 
he has viewed it with a poet's eye, and described it 
with the fidelity of a painter's pencil. 

A large range of buildings, including the dormitory 
and other ofiices, are yet entire, and converted into 
cottages ; the interior has been somewhat modernized, 
but the exterior presents much the same appearance 
as when left bv its monkish builders. The cloister has 
probably been of the penthouse kind, and is now 
occupied as a farm-yard. The church has suffered 
severely ; yet the shell is nearly entire, and of the 
usual cruciform shape, without aisles. The greatest 



EGGLESTON ABBEY. 375 

part of the walls of the nave and choir are yet of their 
original height, of early English architecture. The 
south side of the nave has been lighted by five windows 
of two lights each, the tracery yet remaining. The 
other side, which has adjoined the conventual buildings, 
is a blank wall. The corbels yet remain, to which side 
beams from the roof have descended. The transept is 
nearly all gone. The great eastern window of the 
choir is yet complete, and divided into five lights by 
perpendicular mullions, and is far from elegant ; the 
mouldings on the outside are ornamented with slender 
banded shafts. The piscinse of two altars yet remain. 
The late J. B. S. Morritt, Esq., caused all the fragments 
accumulated inside to be removed, when several ancient 
tombstones were exposed to view ; two of them bearing 
inscriptions in old English characters, and one a richly 
ornamented cross. The bases of the pillars which have 
sustained the central tower were also laid bare. Some 
parts of the walls threaten to fall at no very distant 
period, some parts are thickly overgrown with ivy, and 
some parts are shaded by a fine grove of trees. From 
various causes, this abbey must always be a choice spot 
for the tourist and- the lover of natural beauty. 



376 



§0foes €milL 

Besides the attraction of its Norman castle, or tower, 
Bowes has also the additional interest of having been a 
Roman station, on the great military road leading from 
Catteractonum, (Catterick,) to Luguvallium, (Carlisle;) 
known by the name of Lavatrse, or Lavatris.* The 
station does not appear to have been of great extent, 
as part of the ditch by which it was environed may 
yet be traced. 

* It is mentioned in the II. and V. Iters, of Antoninus, in the following 

manner : — 

Itek. II. 

From Verterse Brough, in Westmorland, 

m. p, 

to Lavatrse . . 14 . . Bowes, 
to Catteractonum 13 . . Catterick. 

Iter. V. 
From Catteractonum Catterick, 

m. p. 

to Lavatrse . . 18 . . Bowes. 

to Yeterse . . 14 . . Brough. 
Thus making a difference of five miles in the different Iters between Catterick 
and Bowes, and shewing that even those valuable records are not infallible 
guides in fixing the sites of Eoman stations and towns. 

In the Itinerary of Kichard of Cirencester, the distances are — 

Iter VIII. 

m. p. 

From Catteractoni (Catterick) to Lataris (Bowes) . . 16 

From Lataris to Vataris (Brough) . . 16 

In the Notitia, where the stations of the Eoman soldiers in Britain are 
mentioned, we find, — 

Perfectus numeri, Exploratorum, Lavatris. 



BOWES CASTLE. 377 

On the inclosure of the common lands of the parish, 
an ancient aqueduct was discovered, leading from a 
place called Laver, or Laverpool, near two miles distant 
from the toVn, and which is supposed to have supplied 
the garrison and bath with water. 

Camden recorded the following inscription, found at 
Bowes ; the stone on which it was inscribed, having for 
a long time served as the communion table in the 
parish church. 

Imp. Csesari Divi Traiani Parthici 

Divi. Nervoe nepoti Traiano. 

'No. Aug. Pont. Maxm. 

Cos. I P. P. Coh. nil. F. 

lo. Sev. 

And another, which narrates the reparation of a 
bath for the first Thracian cohort, in the time of 
Severus, by Virius Lupus, legate and proprsetor of 
Britain : his agent being Valerius Pronto, prsefect of 
Horse, of the Ala Yettonum."^^' 

Bowes is unnoticed in Saxon records, or in Domes- 
day. When this district came into the possession of 
the earls of Richmond, a huge, massive, Gorman keep, 
or tower, was erected, which they kept in their own 
hands It is supposed to have been built on the ruins 
of the Roman station, by Alan Niger, the first earl ; 

* A remarkable group of six massive gold rings, with disunit-ed ends, were 
found at Bowes, in January, 1850. The dilated edges of the ends are ex- 
tended to the inner side of the rings, in a way that must have rendered them 
exceedingly uncomfortable if worn as armlets. They lay close together, 
with what was thought to be the remains of a bag. They differed materially 
in weight ; varying from 15 dwts. to 6 oz. 



878 BOWES CASTLE. 

who placed therein his cousin WiUiam, with five hund- 
red archers, to defend the honor against the men of 
Cumberland and Westmorland, who had rebelled 
against the Conqueror, and with GospatHc, earl of 
ISTorthumberland, had entered into a league with the 
king of Scots. 

This place, the Turrim d' arcbus, appears to have 
belonged to John de Dreux, earl of Richmond, in the 
reign of Edward III., who granted it to Mary St. Paul, 
the countess of Pembroke, in the 15th of the same 
reign. Ten years afterwards, it was ruinous, unten- 
able, and of no value ; but the ground within the 
ditches was estimated at £5. From the countess of 
Pembroke, it passed to John, duke of Bedford, third 
son of Henry IV., who died possessed of it. It was 
afterwards held by Henry YI. It is now, with the toll 
of cattle passing through the manor, the property of 
the Pulleine family. 

The castle stands on the crest of a hill, to the south 
of the town, overlooking the valley watered by the 
Greta, and its tributary streams, having the shapeless 
mass of Stainmoor rising bleak and bare to the west, 
Teesdale on the north, the hills of Swaledale on the 
south, and an extensive prospect, over a fruitful and 
interesting country, to the eastward. 

The plan of the castle is a square, the south and 
north fronts being about ninety feet each in length, 
and the east and west about forty-four feet each. The 
walls are twelve feet in thickness, faced with hewn 
stone of excellent quality, flanked by shallow Gorman 



BOWES CASTLE. 379 

buttresses. The east and south sides are quite perfect ; 
the outer coating has been stripped from off the other 
sides, leaving the inner grouting exposed, which is. 
hard and durable as stone itself. The thick walls are 
pierced by loop holes, three inches wide on the exterior, 
but widening within so as to allow a bowman to stand 
and discharge his arrows through them. There has 
been no entrance from the outside into the lower story, 
all ingress into it must have been from the room im- 
mediately above it. The principal entrance appears 
to have been into the second story, by a flight of steps, 
now destroj^ed, on the east of the castle. 

Three large round-headed windows, of nearly similar 
proportions with the doorway, on the other three sides 
of the building, have admitted light into this story, 
which has contained the principal apartments. It is 
easy to see that the building has been three stories in 
height ; and probably little more than the battlements 
on the top have been broken down. 

On each side of what we have styled the entrance, 
is a small, square, arched room, about fifteen feet in 
length, by seven in breadth ; each of them provided 
with a fire-place, both the rooms being formed in the 
thickness of the wall. In the south-western side, is 
another room of similar dimensions, also formed in the 
thickness of the wall. In the south wall, is a passage 
two feet six inches wide, leading from one loop hole to 
another, so that these openings could be approached 
without entering the principal room ; such passages 
might also be used for other purposes. A circular 



8S0 BOWES CASTLE. 

stone staircase, of good Avorkmanship and large pro- 
portions, at the south-east corner, has ascended from 
the basement story to the top of the tower. The 
height of the existing walls is more than fifty feet. 
Although but of small dimensions, this has been a 
place of great strength, and no doubt of equal im- 
portance. At a distance of about twenty yards from 
the foot of the tower, are traces of a moat, wdiich has 
been neither wide nor deep, and probably has not 
contained w^ater. It is supposed to have been the 
ditch around the Roman station, and this tower 
probably stands on the site of the Castrum Ewflora- 
torum once occupied by the Ala Vettonum. 

In the neighbourhood of Bowes, are other interesting 
objects, as a natural bridge across the river Greta, 
called " God's Bridge ; " it is of immense thickness, 
and has a complete arch-like perforation over the bed 
of the stream, and the carriage road passes over it. A 
few miles further west, on the bleak ridge of Stain- 
moor, is the ancient camp known as Berecross, and 
somewhat famous in early British history. 

The church yard of Bowes has some claims to 
attention, for in it rest the remains of tw^o true lovers 
— Boger Wrightson and Martha Bailton, who died for 
love of each other. Their hapless fate has been com- 
memorated in verse, and formed the foundation of 
Mallet's affecting ballad of " Edwin and Emma." The 
elder Wrightson was a hard old man, who had acquired 
a handsome competency, and required that his son 
should marry a fortune ; but in vain ; his affections 



BOWES CASTLE. 381 

were fixed on the pretty, but poor Martha Railton. 
Their courtship continued by stealth for more than a 
year. When it was found out, old Wrightson, his wife, 
and particularly their daughter, Hannah, treated the 
poor girl with the most notable contempt. The young 
lover sickened, and took to his bed about Shrove Tues- 
day, and died the Sunday sennight following. On the 
last day of his illness, he desired to see his mistress. 
She was civilly received by the mother, who bid her 
welcome when it was too late. But her daughter, Han- 
nah, who was present, would give them no opportunity 
of exchanging their thoughts. On her return home, on 
hearing the passing bell toll for her lover's departure, 
she screamed aloud that her heart was burst, and 
expired some moments after. 

" Just when she reach'd, with trembling step, 

Her aged mother's door, — 
' He's gone,' she cried, ' and I shall see 

That angel face no more. 

'"I feel ! I feel this bursting heart 

Beat high against my side ' 

From her w^hite arm down sunk her head ; 
She shivering, sighed and died." 

The simple record in the parish register, is a most 
touching and truthful witness of this domestic tragedy. 

" Hodger Wrightson, Jun., and Martha Railton, of 
Bowes, Buried in one grave : He died in a Fever, 
upon tolhng his passing Bell she cryed out My 
heart is broke, and in a Few hours expired, purely 
through Love. March 15. 1715. Aged about twenty 
years each." 



382 BOWES CASTLE. (*^f^- */^ " 

At the west end of the church is a stone, erected at 
the expense of F. T. Dinsdale, Esq., author of the 
Teesdale glossary, bearing the simple and appropriate 
entry, copied from the parish register. Such is the 
evidence on which rests this tale, — 

" So tender and so true." 




J. SAMPSON, CONEY-STKEET, YORK. 



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